WEBVTT - The Queen’s Cook 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:11.360 Question do you know what modern country the biblical story 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:14.800 of Esther is based in? The answer is Iran. Now 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:17.440 what if we really understood the people, the culture, the 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:21.000 history of Iran? How would that inform our reading of Esther? 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:24.439 Coming up, a conversation with someone born and raised in 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.800 Iran who has fresh insights on the story of Esther. 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:30.680 This is the land and the book. Our team consists 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:34.680 of noted Old Testament scholar Charlie Dyer, producer Dan Anderson, 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:38.000 and I'm John Geiger, a guy who loves to ask questions. Well, 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:40.560 you know, Charlie, Passover will soon be upon us. And 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:44.000 one of the traditional Passover questions is what makes this 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:47.159 night different from all others? Passover is just such an 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:50.720 important biblical holiday that has great meaning for Jewish people 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.040 and believers in Jesus. And I think this is a 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:54.400 great question to ask. 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:56.200 It is a great question to ask, and if you 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.560 want to learn more about what makes Passover so special. Well, 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:01.950 our friends at Life in Messiah are offering to mail 0:01:01.950 --> 0:01:06.230 you a free copy of their Messianic Passover Haggadah. The 0:01:06.230 --> 0:01:09.030 booklet will lead you through the celebration of Passover to 0:01:09.069 --> 0:01:12.390 see the rich connections to Jesus, our Messiah, and the 0:01:12.390 --> 0:01:15.709 Last Supper. You'll also receive a link for an interactive 0:01:15.750 --> 0:01:19.790 Passover Seder video with the Haggadah and video. You can 0:01:19.790 --> 0:01:23.390 celebrate Passover this year with your family and friends. To 0:01:23.390 --> 0:01:26.509 get this free offer, just go to Life in Messiah 0:01:26.510 --> 0:01:29.390 org and click on the radio button to find out 0:01:29.390 --> 0:01:33.429 more and to request your copy. That's life in Messiah. 0:01:34.630 --> 0:01:36.870 If you're new to the broadcast, this is segment one 0:01:36.870 --> 0:01:39.750 of four in which we look at current events, things 0:01:39.750 --> 0:01:42.150 happening in the Middle East this week and last week, Charlie, 0:01:42.150 --> 0:01:46.030 we discussed the political turmoil roiling Israel as the ruling 0:01:46.030 --> 0:01:49.390 coalition faced a series of crucial votes in the Knesset, 0:01:49.390 --> 0:01:52.830 with a March 31st deadline just a few days remaining 0:01:52.830 --> 0:01:55.750 in the month. Where does everything stand right now? 0:01:56.110 --> 0:01:59.140 You know, Prime Minister Netanyahu appears to have retained his 0:01:59.140 --> 0:02:03.740 title as the undisputed political chess master of Israel. Just 0:02:03.740 --> 0:02:05.940 over a week ago, he appeared to be facing an 0:02:05.940 --> 0:02:10.139 impossible situation with a razor thin majority in the Knesset. 0:02:10.180 --> 0:02:13.579 The ultra-Orthodox party said they wouldn't vote for the budget 0:02:13.620 --> 0:02:17.220 unless the Knesset first passed a bill granting military draft 0:02:17.220 --> 0:02:21.700 exemption for the ultra-Orthodox man. Now, without their support, Netanyahu 0:02:21.700 --> 0:02:24.579 didn't have enough votes to pass the budget, meaning the 0:02:24.580 --> 0:02:28.300 coalition would collapse. But then he reached a deal with Ben-Gvir, 0:02:28.340 --> 0:02:31.300 bringing the members of his party and their votes back 0:02:31.300 --> 0:02:34.420 into the coalition and providing enough votes to pass a 0:02:34.460 --> 0:02:39.020 budget even without the ultra-Orthodox. In the end, the ultra-Orthodox 0:02:39.020 --> 0:02:41.579 parties were forced to back down and agree to vote 0:02:41.580 --> 0:02:44.300 for the budget. To get the budget passed on time, 0:02:44.300 --> 0:02:47.660 the Knesset House Committee invoked a clause in the parliamentary 0:02:47.660 --> 0:02:51.620 rulebook to limit total debate on the budget to 15 hours, 0:02:51.820 --> 0:02:55.620 which went all night Monday. They also limited amendment votes, 0:02:55.620 --> 0:03:00.010 allowing just 35 votes on textual clauses and three votes 0:03:00.010 --> 0:03:03.730 per budget item. As a result, the budget passed Tuesday 0:03:03.930 --> 0:03:07.250 by a final vote of 66 to 52. By the 0:03:07.250 --> 0:03:10.330 end of the week, the hotly contested judicial selection bill 0:03:10.330 --> 0:03:14.610 also passed its final reading. The bill increases political control 0:03:14.610 --> 0:03:19.250 over judicial appointments. Currently, a nine member judicial selection committee 0:03:19.250 --> 0:03:23.130 makes all judicial appointments while the governments represented on the 0:03:23.130 --> 0:03:27.090 committee they're a minority. The judiciary basically gets to choose 0:03:27.090 --> 0:03:31.450 its own replacements. The new system removes two representatives from 0:03:31.450 --> 0:03:35.450 the Israel Bar Association and replaces them with two lawyers, 0:03:35.450 --> 0:03:38.850 one chosen by the coalition and the second by the opposition. 0:03:39.090 --> 0:03:42.250 Appointments are approved by majority vote, but must include at 0:03:42.290 --> 0:03:45.690 least one vote each from a representative of the coalition, 0:03:45.970 --> 0:03:48.850 one from the opposition, and one from the Supreme Court, 0:03:48.890 --> 0:03:52.330 giving all sides a veto. And the law doesn't take 0:03:52.330 --> 0:03:56.040 effect until after the next parliamentary election. It appears to 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:59.520 be a fair compromise, though it's still opposed by some. 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:02.480 And in the midst of dealing with all of those items, 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:04.840 the cabinet passed a vote of no confidence in the 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.320 current attorney general, which could lead to her dismissal. And 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:10.720 they also voted to dismiss the head of Shin Bet, 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:15.640 Israel's security agency. Israel's Supreme Court has temporarily blocked both 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:18.760 those decisions and will hear arguments from those opposed to 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.039 the actions. And this gets back to the heart of 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:24.080 the dispute between the government and the courts, who has 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:26.960 the ultimate authority. I'm sure this will play out in 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:30.360 coming months, so we'll definitely be revisiting it again. 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:34.120 Well, Israel's political struggles are not unique. Turkey seems to 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:37.400 be matching Israel's drama with its own. As the mayor 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.680 of Istanbul, who was assumed to be President Erdogan's main 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:44.880 opponent in the next election, was arrested for corruption and terrorism. 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:47.320 What do we know about these charges? Are they trumped up? 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:51.840 Well, according to Erdogan, there's no connection between the arrest 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.900 and the fact that this individual was just days away 0:04:54.900 --> 0:04:58.260 from being chosen to lead his party and challenge Erdogan 0:04:58.260 --> 0:05:01.219 in the next election. Again, according to Erdogan, it's just 0:05:01.220 --> 0:05:06.540 a coincidence that Istanbul's chief prosecutor and Turkey's, quote, independent 0:05:06.540 --> 0:05:10.020 judiciary at this time decided to arrest him along with 0:05:10.020 --> 0:05:13.100 scores of others in his party. In all honesty, John, 0:05:13.100 --> 0:05:16.900 that's just hard to believe. Ekrem Imamoglu is, or at 0:05:16.940 --> 0:05:21.420 least was, mayor of Istanbul. He's young, dynamic and he 0:05:21.420 --> 0:05:25.860 defeated Erdogan's party's candidate for mayor of Istanbul twice. The 0:05:25.860 --> 0:05:28.580 arrest took place just days before Emmanuel was due to 0:05:28.580 --> 0:05:32.700 be selected as his party's candidate for the next presidential election. 0:05:33.060 --> 0:05:37.180 According to Turkey's constitution, Erdogan's time in power ends with 0:05:37.180 --> 0:05:41.260 the next election scheduled for 2028. But many believe he 0:05:41.260 --> 0:05:44.260 was planning to call for early elections and then change 0:05:44.260 --> 0:05:48.739 the constitution to allow him to continue on as president indefinitely. 0:05:49.100 --> 0:05:54.370 In addition to being arrested. Istanbul University nullified Emmanuel's university 0:05:54.410 --> 0:05:58.050 diploma for what they described as alleged irregularities in his 0:05:58.050 --> 0:06:02.930 transfer from a private university 30 years ago. This move 0:06:02.930 --> 0:06:05.690 also bars him from running for president, since the position 0:06:05.690 --> 0:06:10.450 requires candidates to be university graduates. The court ordered Emmanuel 0:06:10.490 --> 0:06:13.970 to be jailed pending trial on the corruption charges. They 0:06:13.970 --> 0:06:17.690 rejected the request to have him imprisoned on terror related charges, 0:06:17.690 --> 0:06:20.650 though he still faces prosecution on them. But since he 0:06:20.650 --> 0:06:23.729 is already in jail, that really doesn't matter. The question 0:06:23.730 --> 0:06:26.130 for Turkey right now is how will this play out? 0:06:26.330 --> 0:06:28.570 This is widely seen as a political move on the 0:06:28.570 --> 0:06:32.250 part of Erdogan to sideline one individual who stood a 0:06:32.250 --> 0:06:35.409 good chance of defeating him in the next presidential race. 0:06:35.770 --> 0:06:38.210 Right now, this looks more like a conspiracy or a 0:06:38.210 --> 0:06:42.450 coup against Emmanuel, rather than just a series of coincidences, 0:06:42.450 --> 0:06:43.810 as Erdogan might claim. 0:06:43.850 --> 0:06:46.450 And of course, Americans like us wonder, why don't the 0:06:46.450 --> 0:06:49.130 people speak up? Why is there no opposition? Why does 0:06:49.130 --> 0:06:50.130 he get away with this? 0:06:50.610 --> 0:06:53.440 Well, 1500 people did speak up and have been arrested 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.960 and are now in jail. Erdogan has very heavy handed 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:58.479 in dealing with opposition. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:01.120 From Moody Radio. This is the land and the book. 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:04.600 Doctor Charlie Dyer, our host. I'm John Gager, working our 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:07.000 way through a list of stories that have unfolded this 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:10.040 week in the Middle East. Well, Armageddon is in the news. 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:12.480 And this time, though, the focus is on the past, 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:16.000 not the future. What's the latest archaeological news from the 0:07:16.040 --> 0:07:19.040 ancient site of Megiddo? Biblical Armageddon? 0:07:19.440 --> 0:07:23.120 Well, two reports have focused on excavations at Megiddo. The 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:26.960 first highlighted the discovery of an Egyptian military presence at 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:31.480 the site in 609 BC. Large amounts of Egyptian and 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:35.120 Greek pottery confirmed the presence of Egyptian forces and their 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:38.440 Greek mercenaries there at that time. Now, this isn't a 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:41.040 surprise to those who know the Bible, because the Bible 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:45.440 records the death of King Josiah, Judah's last good king, there, 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:50.150 at Megiddo in 609 BC. Second Kings 2329 says As 0:07:50.230 --> 0:07:53.230 Josiah marched out to meet Pharaoh Necho in battle, but 0:07:53.230 --> 0:07:56.790 Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo. Apparently, the 0:07:56.790 --> 0:08:00.910 Egyptians then occupied Megiddo to control the strategic pass there 0:08:00.910 --> 0:08:04.750 through Mount Carmel. The second discovery at Megiddo dates from 0:08:04.750 --> 0:08:08.310 after the time of the New Testament. Archaeologists have uncovered 0:08:08.310 --> 0:08:12.150 a Roman military base that housed the Roman Sixth Legion, 0:08:12.190 --> 0:08:16.310 the so-called ironclad Legion. The camp was so large that 0:08:16.310 --> 0:08:19.030 only a small part it's actually been excavated so far. 0:08:19.070 --> 0:08:23.270 The rest was mapped using ground penetrating radar. Megiddo controlled 0:08:23.270 --> 0:08:27.030 the international highway at a strategic choke point and looked 0:08:27.030 --> 0:08:30.390 out over the Jezreel Valley. Archaeology is uncovering some of 0:08:30.390 --> 0:08:33.829 the history that helps demonstrate why the Hill of Megiddo 0:08:33.870 --> 0:08:38.030 was so important militarily. And from the Book of Revelation, 0:08:38.030 --> 0:08:40.750 we know this site will play a strategic role in 0:08:40.750 --> 0:08:44.309 the world's final conflict leading up to the return of Jesus. 0:08:44.309 --> 0:08:47.630 So the Hill of Megiddo, Armageddon has a role in 0:08:47.630 --> 0:08:50.100 the past, militarily and in the future. 0:08:50.460 --> 0:08:52.660 Charlie, how likely is it that visitors, you know, a 0:08:52.660 --> 0:08:55.300 few years from now, will see something different than what 0:08:55.300 --> 0:08:57.460 we have been experiencing when we tour? Megiddo? 0:08:57.860 --> 0:08:59.819 Uh, well, actually, if they if they know where to look, 0:08:59.860 --> 0:09:01.900 you know, where the tunnel goes down and out of 0:09:01.900 --> 0:09:04.340 the city? Yes. Uh, the water tunnel. Well, right next 0:09:04.340 --> 0:09:06.380 to that is where they were excavating and finding the 0:09:06.380 --> 0:09:09.740 Egyptian and Greek material. Uh, the Roman camp is down, actually, 0:09:09.740 --> 0:09:12.180 in the valley just at the foot of Megiddo. And 0:09:12.179 --> 0:09:15.699 so hopefully that at some point will also be open archaeologically. 0:09:15.940 --> 0:09:19.699 Well, moving from Megiddo to Jerusalem, archaeologists continue to excavate 0:09:19.700 --> 0:09:23.700 inside the church of the Holy Sepulchre. What have they uncovered? 0:09:23.980 --> 0:09:26.180 Well, you know, there's a debate over the exact location 0:09:26.179 --> 0:09:29.140 of Calvary and the tomb. We need to remember that 0:09:29.140 --> 0:09:32.380 the exact location isn't what's important. What's important is the 0:09:32.380 --> 0:09:34.939 reality that Jesus died on the cross for our sins 0:09:34.940 --> 0:09:37.140 in Jerusalem, that he was buried and that he rose 0:09:37.140 --> 0:09:40.420 from the dead. Now, I love the garden tomb, but 0:09:40.420 --> 0:09:42.180 my head tells me that the church of the Holy 0:09:42.220 --> 0:09:45.740 Sepulchre is likely the spot where the events actually took place, 0:09:45.780 --> 0:09:49.650 and that's why these excavations are so important. Archaeologists are 0:09:49.650 --> 0:09:53.130 currently exploring below the floor surrounding the Edicule, the building 0:09:53.130 --> 0:09:55.809 where the tomb was. They knew the area was originally 0:09:55.809 --> 0:09:57.929 used as a quarry, and after the quarry went out 0:09:57.929 --> 0:10:00.210 of use, they've now discovered it was turned into an 0:10:00.210 --> 0:10:03.450 agricultural site. Tombs were carved into the sides of the 0:10:03.450 --> 0:10:07.330 former quarry, and low stone walls were erected inside the area, 0:10:07.330 --> 0:10:10.530 and the space between them was filled with dirt. Archaeobotanical 0:10:10.530 --> 0:10:13.850 and pollen analysis of that dirt shows that the area 0:10:13.890 --> 0:10:17.730 grew olive trees and grapevines. This matches the Apostle John's 0:10:17.730 --> 0:10:20.530 description of the area around the tomb. He wrote. Now, 0:10:20.530 --> 0:10:23.089 in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, 0:10:23.090 --> 0:10:25.650 and in the garden a new sepulchre. Now these current 0:10:25.650 --> 0:10:29.610 excavations don't resolve the debate between the two potential sites, 0:10:29.610 --> 0:10:32.210 but they do help show us that both sites match 0:10:32.210 --> 0:10:34.209 the details found in the Bible. 0:10:34.490 --> 0:10:37.010 Wow. That's interesting Charlie, thank you for that update on 0:10:37.010 --> 0:10:40.250 both Megiddo and Armageddon and our new stories as well. 0:10:40.290 --> 0:10:42.770 Coming up next, a look at Esther from someone who 0:10:42.770 --> 0:10:45.809 grew up in Iran, the country where Esther is based. 0:10:45.850 --> 0:10:48.440 That's all ahead on today's edition of The Land and 0:10:48.440 --> 0:11:07.400 the book from Moody Radio. An impossible dream, a forbidden romance, 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:11.840 a mysterious book a simple cook navigates through heartache and 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:16.040 danger in Sousa's ancient kitchens. Along the journey, she becomes 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:19.800 Queen Esther's treasured friend. The story is fiction, yeah, but 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.559 it sheds light on the life of the biblical character 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:25.760 we know as Esther. I think you'll enjoy this conversation 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:28.640 coming up on the land and the book. Hey, welcome 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:31.640 back to segment two. I'm John Gager, inviting you to 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.640 pause with me for this creative idea in loving our 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:38.600 Muslim neighbors and coworkers for Christ. So you're standing in 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.920 line at the bank and the teller is a muslim woman. 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:44.880 May you talk to her or should you not? Let's 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:46.900 ask Stefano. Affair with call of Hope. 0:11:47.460 --> 0:11:51.420 Well, you are not embarrassing her if you talk to her. 0:11:51.460 --> 0:11:54.939 No problem. In business life, that's okay. And even in 0:11:54.940 --> 0:11:59.500 many Muslim countries, that's totally normal. When you enter into 0:11:59.540 --> 0:12:04.060 Dubai or Qatar, there will be a woman issuing your visa, 0:12:04.059 --> 0:12:08.380 so that's fine. But that does not mean that you 0:12:08.380 --> 0:12:12.100 should go into a conversation for sure. Not about your 0:12:12.100 --> 0:12:15.700 faith with a muslim woman. This is something you should 0:12:15.700 --> 0:12:19.540 leave to your wife, to your sister, to your friend 0:12:19.540 --> 0:12:24.660 at church. Let them talk to this Muslim woman. But 0:12:25.100 --> 0:12:28.220 in business life, and when they talk to you and 0:12:28.220 --> 0:12:31.179 when they wish you a good day. Oh, of course 0:12:31.220 --> 0:12:33.220 you reply. But don't shake hands. 0:12:33.260 --> 0:12:36.100 And any other engagement with a muslim woman should, in 0:12:36.100 --> 0:12:38.860 a social setting, should definitely be woman to woman. 0:12:38.860 --> 0:12:41.939 Absolutely. Or you take your wife with you. You know, 0:12:41.980 --> 0:12:45.410 that's also possible. You can And be there as a couple. 0:12:45.450 --> 0:12:48.569 Okay. Stefano Ferrer is with call of Hope U.S. Practical 0:12:48.570 --> 0:12:53.570 Insights for sharing Jesus with your Muslim friends. Born in 0:12:53.570 --> 0:12:56.850 the Middle East, Tessa Afshar spent her teen years in 0:12:56.850 --> 0:13:00.370 England and later moved to the United States. Her conversion 0:13:00.370 --> 0:13:04.090 to Christianity in her 20s changed the course of her life. 0:13:04.290 --> 0:13:07.050 She holds a master of Divinity from Yale, where she 0:13:07.050 --> 0:13:10.130 served as the co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship for a year. 0:13:10.490 --> 0:13:13.610 Tessa is a devoted wife, a mediocre gardener. At least 0:13:13.610 --> 0:13:17.050 that's her statement. I doubt that, and an enthusiastic cook 0:13:17.050 --> 0:13:20.410 of biblical recipes. You may know her best, though, for 0:13:20.410 --> 0:13:23.890 her many books. Tessa's ancient historical fiction has been on 0:13:23.890 --> 0:13:27.530 several bestseller lists and has been translated into Get This 0:13:27.530 --> 0:13:32.090 12 languages. Her novels have won many awards, and Tessa 0:13:32.090 --> 0:13:35.130 is one of my wife's very favorite authors. It's an 0:13:35.130 --> 0:13:38.050 honor to welcome you back to the land and the book. Tessa. 0:13:38.370 --> 0:13:41.330 I'm so delighted to join you and your listeners. John. 0:13:41.370 --> 0:13:42.890 Thank you for asking me. 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:45.320 So the setting for your novel, which of course, is 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.800 intricately woven together with the biblical account of Esther, takes 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.280 place in the ancient city of Susa. And I'm told 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:55.440 that Susa was located in the lower Zagros Mountains of 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:59.319 southwest Iran, a vital center in the ancient Near East, 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:01.720 the capital of Elam. What else can you tell us 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:02.640 about Susa? 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:07.000 Well, of course, at the time the nation was called Persia, 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:12.160 and it was the greatest nation that the world had seen. 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:16.120 It was an empire that had broken all the records 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:21.240 of size up until that point. They spread from India 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:25.080 to Egypt, and because of that they had five capitals, 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:29.080 not just one. And Susa was one of those capital. 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.120 Susa was an ancient city. It was a city that 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:37.000 had been already quite great long before the Persians came 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:41.280 to power. The king before the one who married Esther, 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:45.150 After Darius had taken that Susa that had at the 0:14:45.150 --> 0:14:48.390 time sort of fallen on hard times, and he had 0:14:48.430 --> 0:14:52.229 built it up again, and he had made it grand again, 0:14:52.430 --> 0:14:55.310 and he had transformed it into one of the capitals 0:14:55.310 --> 0:14:59.550 of Persia. I believe that Esther probably grew up in 0:14:59.550 --> 0:15:03.110 this very area. She, at a very young age, lost 0:15:03.110 --> 0:15:07.070 her parents and was raised by Mordecai, who was a cousin, 0:15:07.310 --> 0:15:10.830 and although she grew up as a Jew, she grew 0:15:10.830 --> 0:15:14.070 up probably in a Jewish neighborhood. She grew up with 0:15:14.270 --> 0:15:17.870 the teachings of the Lord. So even though she would 0:15:17.910 --> 0:15:22.870 have grown up in the same city that Persians ruled 0:15:22.870 --> 0:15:26.310 and Persians lived in, she would still have had her 0:15:26.310 --> 0:15:29.070 own sort of separate existence, if that makes sense. 0:15:29.110 --> 0:15:32.030 Okay. Our guest today on the land and the book 0:15:32.030 --> 0:15:34.950 is Tessa Afshar. Born in the Middle East, she brings 0:15:34.950 --> 0:15:38.310 us unique insights into the life of Queen Esther using 0:15:38.310 --> 0:15:41.260 the tool of fiction. Here's an odd question what do 0:15:41.260 --> 0:15:43.940 we know about the diet of folks in Susa during 0:15:43.980 --> 0:15:46.500 Esther's day? What did they eat? Or do we really 0:15:46.500 --> 0:15:47.100 not know? 0:15:47.620 --> 0:15:52.100 So the Persians liked meat a lot, and in a 0:15:52.100 --> 0:15:55.660 given palace they probably would have had about a thousand 0:15:55.660 --> 0:15:59.540 animals that would be roasted for the day, because they 0:15:59.540 --> 0:16:04.420 didn't just feed the courtiers and the king and his family, 0:16:04.420 --> 0:16:08.060 but they also said the soldiers, his special guard who 0:16:08.060 --> 0:16:11.380 were called the immortals and the guests, and then the 0:16:11.380 --> 0:16:14.420 servants who worked in the palace, got to take the 0:16:14.420 --> 0:16:16.820 leftovers home with them. It was one of the perks 0:16:16.820 --> 0:16:19.620 of working in the palace. Now we also know that 0:16:19.620 --> 0:16:25.300 they had wine and grapes and figs and a whole 0:16:25.340 --> 0:16:27.940 bunch of other things. A lot of spices. 0:16:28.180 --> 0:16:31.300 Well, I like this idea of of takeout. That sounds 0:16:31.300 --> 0:16:31.900 good to me. 0:16:31.940 --> 0:16:32.860 Nice benefit. 0:16:33.740 --> 0:16:36.540 Well, ultimately, if I've got my history correct here, Esther 0:16:36.540 --> 0:16:39.450 is chosen to be the queen of Xerxes, who ruled 0:16:39.450 --> 0:16:43.490 from 486 to about 465 BC. What do we know 0:16:43.490 --> 0:16:46.650 about this king that might help us better understand Esther 0:16:46.650 --> 0:16:48.450 and the challenges that she faced? 0:16:48.810 --> 0:16:51.570 So Xerxes was the son of Darius. He was the 0:16:51.570 --> 0:16:55.770 grandson of Cyrus the Great. So right before the story 0:16:55.770 --> 0:16:59.330 of Esther. So at the time that the whole problem 0:16:59.330 --> 0:17:03.690 arose with Haman sort of coming up with this terrible 0:17:03.730 --> 0:17:08.290 edict and convincing the king to set all the Jews 0:17:08.290 --> 0:17:12.689 in all the 127 provinces to death. Right before this, 0:17:12.730 --> 0:17:14.810 Esther had been married for five years. And when you 0:17:14.810 --> 0:17:18.250 look at the years before this and up to his 0:17:18.250 --> 0:17:21.850 marriage to Esther, we find that Xerxes had been through 0:17:21.850 --> 0:17:25.129 a lot of difficulties. So he had lost a war 0:17:25.170 --> 0:17:28.810 to Greece. There had been some several terrible battles, and 0:17:28.810 --> 0:17:31.490 a lot of Persians had been killed. And then right 0:17:31.490 --> 0:17:34.850 after that, there were a couple of serious uprisings. One 0:17:34.850 --> 0:17:39.120 was in Babylon that he had to put out these fires, 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.520 and he'd just been going from one hard thing to 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:44.400 another to another. And by the time we meet him 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:46.640 in the book of Esther, we get a sense he 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:51.000 drinks too much. He doesn't trust his own judgment. You know, 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:54.440 he's not in a good place. So I think for 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:57.760 Esther at that time, on the one hand, there are 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:00.880 certain things that are good about him, because we realize 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:04.359 that as soon as he recognizes that he's made an error, 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:07.479 that he has put his trust in Haman, who's a 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:12.240 terrible person, he immediately sort of pulls back and tries 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:15.120 to do what he can to put it to right, 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:17.360 to put his mistakes to right. So there are some 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:20.640 really good things about him, but I assume that when 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.120 Esther first married him, he was a bit of a mess. 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:25.680 If you're just joining us, this is the land and 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:29.040 the book. I'm John Gager. We're talking with Tessa Afshar, 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:32.600 who's written the fictional work The Queen's Cook, based in 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:35.600 the times of the biblical Queen Esther, and with some 0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:38.990 wonderful imagination and a bit of creative license. You've crafted 0:18:38.990 --> 0:18:42.149 this novel The Queen's Cook. Give us a brief overview. 0:18:42.670 --> 0:18:45.790 So you know, John. So many people have written wonderful 0:18:45.790 --> 0:18:50.710 books about Esther, and because I was myself born in Persia, 0:18:50.750 --> 0:18:53.950 and Esther has always meant a lot to me, and 0:18:53.950 --> 0:18:57.430 I always wanted to come back and do something about her. 0:18:57.430 --> 0:19:00.350 But I also felt like her life had been covered 0:19:00.350 --> 0:19:03.870 really well by movies and books. So I decided to 0:19:03.910 --> 0:19:09.350 write a series of three books based on Esther's fictional friends. 0:19:09.550 --> 0:19:11.790 So on the one hand, I can go to town 0:19:11.790 --> 0:19:15.190 and just write a story kind of more freely about 0:19:15.190 --> 0:19:17.910 people who don't exist. But on the other hand, I 0:19:17.910 --> 0:19:22.190 can also show a little bit about Esther's world, about 0:19:22.230 --> 0:19:26.390 the Persian world, about the different characters who lived in 0:19:26.390 --> 0:19:29.389 that world, the different backgrounds who lived in that world 0:19:29.670 --> 0:19:33.790 by showcasing people who are from different backgrounds. So the 0:19:33.790 --> 0:19:37.449 first Character is a young woman who is from a 0:19:37.450 --> 0:19:41.650 Persian background, and she ends up becoming a cook in 0:19:41.650 --> 0:19:47.050 Esther's kitchens. Now there were almost 300 cooks in each palace. 0:19:47.090 --> 0:19:47.570 Really? 0:19:47.770 --> 0:19:50.330 Yeah. And it's extraordinary. Now, they were supposed to clean 0:19:50.330 --> 0:19:54.689 up after themselves. There weren't that many cleaning servants, but 0:19:54.690 --> 0:19:59.169 the cooks had specialties. Some of them focused on dairy, 0:19:59.170 --> 0:20:01.930 some of them focused on dessert, some of them focused 0:20:01.930 --> 0:20:06.450 on main meals. So obviously there was a lot of 0:20:06.850 --> 0:20:10.090 focus on food. The Persians like their food. They like 0:20:10.130 --> 0:20:11.889 their sweets. They like their desserts. 0:20:11.930 --> 0:20:13.409 You know, I'm with them. 0:20:14.410 --> 0:20:18.130 Me too. Totally. I had such a blast just coming up. 0:20:18.130 --> 0:20:18.490 With. 0:20:18.730 --> 0:20:21.370 That part of the story and the research. The research 0:20:21.369 --> 0:20:25.169 included John cooking a lot, so that was great. My 0:20:25.170 --> 0:20:30.010 husband loved that. But the story is basically showcases Esther 0:20:30.210 --> 0:20:32.850 in first person. She pops up every once in a 0:20:32.890 --> 0:20:37.520 while through her secret scrolls telling her side of the 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:40.880 story a little bit. But mostly it's the story of 0:20:40.880 --> 0:20:42.680 this young woman who becomes a cook. 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:43.640 I have to ask. 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:47.520 You, if you had an audience today with the biblical 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:52.240 character Esther, just given a moment, what one question would 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:54.000 you ask her if you were given only one? 0:20:54.520 --> 0:21:00.080 The Lord gave you such profound responsibility. Did you find 0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:04.000 happiness as you juggled that responsibility? 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:04.639 Hmm. 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:07.440 All right. What about you? As you're writing this? Anything 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:10.640 that maybe caught you by surprise as you researched this book? 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:14.160 I mean, as you said, you're of Persian descent. This 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:16.480 is a home base for you. Any surprises. 0:21:16.480 --> 0:21:16.800 Though? 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:19.760 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I grew up in Persia, but 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:21.880 I did not grow up a Christian, so I knew 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:24.520 about the kings. But I'd never been told about Esther. 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:28.040 And it wasn't until I became a Christian that then 0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:30.600 I started reading the Bible and I was like, hey, 0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:33.030 wait a minute. Like, these are my kings. 0:21:33.030 --> 0:21:34.070 These are my people. 0:21:34.510 --> 0:21:37.310 Um, you know, I went to school studying them, but 0:21:37.310 --> 0:21:40.550 I never heard about Esther. And it's actually not a surprise. 0:21:40.630 --> 0:21:44.469 Number one, Esther and Vashti. Neither of them. So the 0:21:44.470 --> 0:21:48.389 king's first wife. And neither of them are mentioned in 0:21:48.390 --> 0:21:51.550 any of the extra-biblical documents that we have from the 0:21:51.550 --> 0:21:54.550 Persians or from the Greeks, because the Greeks tell us 0:21:54.750 --> 0:21:57.310 a lot about what we know about the Persians, rather 0:21:57.310 --> 0:21:59.950 than the Persians themselves haven't left a lot, or what 0:21:59.950 --> 0:22:02.990 they have left has been destroyed. So I was surprised 0:22:03.030 --> 0:22:06.869 that the only wife of Xerxes that we hear about 0:22:06.910 --> 0:22:09.710 is a woman named Amestris. The question is, why is 0:22:09.750 --> 0:22:13.429 Esther not mentioned? But when I researched, I found out 0:22:13.430 --> 0:22:17.630 one fact about the Persians. They only recorded the names 0:22:17.630 --> 0:22:20.310 of the wives of the king who bore him children. 0:22:20.710 --> 0:22:25.270 So it is not surprising that Vashti isn't mentioned that 0:22:25.310 --> 0:22:29.070 Esther isn't mentioned. If they did not bear him children, 0:22:29.270 --> 0:22:32.100 then they would not have been in the records. So 0:22:32.300 --> 0:22:35.459 whereas Amestris gave him several children and it's one of 0:22:35.460 --> 0:22:40.020 her sons who then becomes Artaxerxes, the following king, we 0:22:40.020 --> 0:22:44.300 do hear from Josephus. Josephus mentions Esther in his book, 0:22:44.300 --> 0:22:48.580 but Josephus is 75 A.D. so we're talking over 400 0:22:48.580 --> 0:22:51.300 years after the events of the Book of Esther. So 0:22:51.340 --> 0:22:56.020 that was kind of a fun insight into why Esther 0:22:56.020 --> 0:23:00.020 is not mentioned outside the Bible. And another insight that 0:23:00.020 --> 0:23:03.419 I had when I was studying the book was Esther's 0:23:03.420 --> 0:23:07.500 initial response to Mordecai. As you probably know this first 0:23:07.540 --> 0:23:10.300 when Mordecai says, but who knows that you were brought 0:23:10.300 --> 0:23:12.340 to royal position for such a time as this? It's 0:23:12.340 --> 0:23:14.939 such a blessing that verse to so many of us, 0:23:14.940 --> 0:23:17.500 because it reminds us that God has not brought us 0:23:17.500 --> 0:23:21.420 to this particular time, this particular season, this particular location, 0:23:21.460 --> 0:23:25.580 even by happenstance that we are here for a reason. Yes, 0:23:25.619 --> 0:23:29.300 for this season. And it's very encouraging. But originally when 0:23:29.300 --> 0:23:32.650 you read the context and Mordecai says those words to Esther, 0:23:32.770 --> 0:23:36.490 I think he doesn't mean them necessarily all sweet and 0:23:36.490 --> 0:23:38.770 lovey dovey. He means them as a little bit of 0:23:38.810 --> 0:23:42.850 a slap to the back of Esther's hand, because he 0:23:42.850 --> 0:23:46.850 has brought to him the problem of the people he 0:23:46.850 --> 0:23:49.770 brought to her. He has said to her, our people 0:23:49.770 --> 0:23:52.330 are about to die. Will you go and intercede with 0:23:52.330 --> 0:23:57.170 the King on our behalf? And yet, Esther's first response. 0:23:57.170 --> 0:24:00.090 She doesn't say the words I can't, but more or 0:24:00.090 --> 0:24:02.690 less that's what she's saying. She says, look, everybody knows 0:24:02.690 --> 0:24:05.530 if I come before the King without being sent for 0:24:05.570 --> 0:24:08.369 the law, says, I shall be put to death. And 0:24:08.369 --> 0:24:12.690 he hasn't sent for me for 30 days. And essentially, 0:24:12.690 --> 0:24:14.530 what she's saying is, first of all, he's not going 0:24:14.530 --> 0:24:17.450 to send for me. And secondly, the king who hasn't 0:24:17.450 --> 0:24:21.010 sent for me in 30 days. She's basically saying, is 0:24:21.010 --> 0:24:24.050 not going to do that for me now. So her 0:24:24.050 --> 0:24:27.129 first response to Mordecai is, I can't do this. I'm 0:24:27.130 --> 0:24:30.040 useless to you. I have no authority. I have no 0:24:30.040 --> 0:24:34.200 influence with my husband. So Mordecai then tells her that 0:24:34.200 --> 0:24:40.000 verse because Mordecai knows for Esther she's only looking at 0:24:40.000 --> 0:24:44.280 her life through the past 30 days. She's looking through 0:24:44.280 --> 0:24:47.040 the lens of the 30 days where she has been 0:24:47.040 --> 0:24:50.440 a rejected wife. Her husband, for whatever reason after five 0:24:50.440 --> 0:24:53.720 years of marriage, has not sent for her, is not interested. 0:24:53.720 --> 0:24:56.840 We don't know why. The reason isn't given, but that's 0:24:56.840 --> 0:24:59.119 all she's looking at. She's looking at life through the 0:24:59.119 --> 0:25:03.000 lens of an abandoned and rejected wife. And Mordecai is saying, 0:25:03.280 --> 0:25:07.240 set that 30 days aside. It's God's such a time 0:25:07.240 --> 0:25:13.720 as this that matters. God's timing always trumps our 30 days. 0:25:14.680 --> 0:25:18.399 Set aside the lens of your past 30 days, 30 months, 0:25:18.400 --> 0:25:21.919 30 years, whatever it is that's got you discouraged right now. 0:25:22.320 --> 0:25:25.600 And look at your life through the lens of God. 0:25:25.600 --> 0:25:26.800 Such a time as this. 0:25:27.230 --> 0:25:30.149 That's a lovely way to land this conversation. So much 0:25:30.150 --> 0:25:32.149 more to think about. And I love the way you 0:25:32.190 --> 0:25:34.950 help us wrestle with it all. Even if it's fiction. 0:25:34.950 --> 0:25:37.990 It is taking us to the biblical story and reminding 0:25:37.990 --> 0:25:40.550 us of important truths about God. Thank you, Tessa, for 0:25:40.550 --> 0:25:42.670 the book and for this conversation. 0:25:42.910 --> 0:25:45.590 It has been my absolute pleasure. Thank you for hanging 0:25:45.590 --> 0:25:46.630 out with me today. 0:25:46.630 --> 0:25:46.790 And. 0:25:46.790 --> 0:25:49.390 We'll look forward to another conversation in the future. Hey, 0:25:49.390 --> 0:25:51.750 coming up on the land and the book your friend 0:25:51.750 --> 0:25:54.030 in mind, Jerry Peterman taking a look at your Bible 0:25:54.030 --> 0:26:08.230 questions right here. It was written by more than 40 0:26:08.270 --> 0:26:13.030 divinely inspired authors over a period of nearly 2000 years. 0:26:13.070 --> 0:26:16.030 The Bible. That's the focus of this third segment here 0:26:16.030 --> 0:26:19.390 on the land and the book, more specifically, your questions 0:26:19.390 --> 0:26:22.469 as you open your copy of the Bible. I'm John Yeager, 0:26:22.510 --> 0:26:25.389 about to be joined by our host, Doctor Gerald Peterman. 0:26:25.390 --> 0:26:28.420 Before we get to that though, let's ask ourselves what 0:26:28.420 --> 0:26:32.660 does Passover mean for us as believers in Jesus? Some 0:26:32.660 --> 0:26:34.740 will remember the story from the book of Exodus, but 0:26:34.740 --> 0:26:37.179 there's more to it. Did you know that the Last 0:26:37.180 --> 0:26:40.300 Supper was really a Passover meal, and that Jesus and 0:26:40.300 --> 0:26:44.020 his disciples celebrated Passover, but it also foreshadowed his death 0:26:44.020 --> 0:26:47.580 on the cross for our redemption. Now, Jewish people, of course, 0:26:47.619 --> 0:26:51.260 have been observing the feast of Passover for thousands of years. 0:26:51.700 --> 0:26:55.180 So understanding its history, its importance will help us better 0:26:55.180 --> 0:26:58.180 connect with our Jewish friends, our Jewish neighbors. And boy, 0:26:58.180 --> 0:27:00.740 what better way to do that than to experience a 0:27:00.740 --> 0:27:05.500 Passover Seder yourself? If you've never celebrated Passover well, our 0:27:05.500 --> 0:27:08.100 friends at Life in Messiah would love to partner with 0:27:08.100 --> 0:27:11.980 you in hosting a Seder experience. Every year, their staff 0:27:11.980 --> 0:27:15.900 engage with churches and small groups in an interactive Messiah 0:27:15.900 --> 0:27:19.580 in the Passover Seder, allowing participants to taste and see 0:27:19.580 --> 0:27:22.619 the redemption story. So bottom line, if you're interested in 0:27:22.660 --> 0:27:25.409 having somebody come to lead a Seder in your area. 0:27:25.450 --> 0:27:29.570 Just head to life in Messiah Dot and click on 0:27:29.570 --> 0:27:32.250 the Moody Radio button there to learn more. That's life 0:27:32.250 --> 0:27:36.930 in Messiah. All right. Let me say welcome to Doctor 0:27:36.930 --> 0:27:38.890 Gerald Peterman. Always good to have you in the studio. 0:27:38.930 --> 0:27:40.090 Oh it's a pleasure to be here. 0:27:40.290 --> 0:27:42.530 What's the best thing about working with students at Moody? 0:27:42.570 --> 0:27:43.810 What do you like about that? 0:27:44.450 --> 0:27:46.330 Oh, wow. Do I have to pick just one thing? 0:27:46.369 --> 0:27:47.170 No. You can choose. 0:27:47.170 --> 0:27:47.490 Several. 0:27:47.530 --> 0:27:53.250 My goodness. Um. They're young, they're energetic. Yeah. And, um, 0:27:53.530 --> 0:27:56.290 they just want to learn. They just soak it up, 0:27:56.650 --> 0:27:58.570 and they will stop by the office and want to 0:27:58.570 --> 0:28:01.290 talk about life and what's going on in life. Uh, 0:28:01.850 --> 0:28:05.250 it's just a really blessed time to be welcomed into 0:28:05.290 --> 0:28:08.450 many young lives and try to give them some encouragement. 0:28:08.650 --> 0:28:09.370 I just love it. 0:28:09.410 --> 0:28:11.609 Now, I take it you've been here. How long on faculty? 0:28:11.650 --> 0:28:12.810 This is my 23rd year. 0:28:12.850 --> 0:28:16.050 23 years. So I would guess that you're kind of pro. 0:28:16.170 --> 0:28:19.210 The idea of parents who are listening, grandparents who are listening, 0:28:19.210 --> 0:28:21.369 sending their kids to Moody as a as a. 0:28:21.410 --> 0:28:24.510 Oh, I'm totally pro sending your grandchildren to Moody or 0:28:24.510 --> 0:28:26.109 sending your children to Moody? Totally, bro. 0:28:26.150 --> 0:28:28.870 Yeah, it's a great environment. Our kids went here, and 0:28:28.869 --> 0:28:30.990 if their kids know what's good for them, why, they'll come. 0:28:30.990 --> 0:28:31.510 Here, too. 0:28:32.470 --> 0:28:35.550 All right, let's get to question number one. This is 0:28:35.550 --> 0:28:38.630 from me. Uh, last year, our pastor encouraged our small 0:28:38.630 --> 0:28:42.150 group to memorize Romans eight, all 39 verses. It was 0:28:42.150 --> 0:28:43.990 a struggle, but we got through it. But of course, 0:28:43.990 --> 0:28:47.070 you can't help but memorize something and not wonder about it. 0:28:47.110 --> 0:28:50.030 In particular, Romans eight says the mind set on the 0:28:50.030 --> 0:28:52.630 flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit 0:28:52.630 --> 0:28:54.870 is life and peace, because the mind set on the 0:28:54.870 --> 0:28:57.630 flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject 0:28:57.630 --> 0:28:59.270 itself to the law of God, for it is not 0:28:59.270 --> 0:29:01.310 even able to do so. And those who are in 0:29:01.310 --> 0:29:04.710 the flesh cannot please God. All right, so here's my question. 0:29:04.710 --> 0:29:07.030 Since I do continue to sin in this life, just 0:29:07.070 --> 0:29:10.590 ask my wife or our producer, Dan Anderson, what is 0:29:10.590 --> 0:29:13.870 an objective measuring standard that I can use to know 0:29:13.870 --> 0:29:16.630 if I am more about the flesh than the spirit? 0:29:16.990 --> 0:29:20.830 Okay. Um, I don't think there is an objective measure, 0:29:21.270 --> 0:29:24.620 but I'll not leave you there. Okay. Okay. That is. 0:29:24.940 --> 0:29:29.180 I think there is a reliable subjective measure. We are 0:29:29.180 --> 0:29:32.620 talking about a relationship. We're talking about a relationship we 0:29:32.620 --> 0:29:35.940 have with God. And relationships always have their ups and downs. 0:29:35.940 --> 0:29:38.620 So what are we looking for? We're looking for this. 0:29:39.020 --> 0:29:42.580 Am I more obedient this year than last? Am I 0:29:42.620 --> 0:29:46.300 more loving this year than last year? Am I more 0:29:46.340 --> 0:29:49.180 anxious for worship and enjoying it more this year than 0:29:49.180 --> 0:29:51.900 last year? And you can discern these things in your 0:29:51.900 --> 0:29:55.020 own heart and mind before God. So I would use 0:29:55.020 --> 0:29:58.940 these questions. These are questions based on passing time. Am 0:29:58.940 --> 0:30:02.700 I being transformed? If you're being transformed, that is the 0:30:02.740 --> 0:30:04.940 work of the spirit. And then I'd get other people 0:30:04.940 --> 0:30:08.980 involved in here too. You mentioned your wife like asking her, honey, 0:30:09.140 --> 0:30:10.980 how have I been growing? And where do I still 0:30:10.980 --> 0:30:11.620 need to grow? 0:30:11.660 --> 0:30:12.100 Yeah. 0:30:12.420 --> 0:30:15.340 And she will give you an honest answer. Thanks be 0:30:15.340 --> 0:30:17.980 to God. Right. And because she knows you. 0:30:17.980 --> 0:30:18.300 That's right. 0:30:18.340 --> 0:30:22.050 And so she can see. Here's where you are changing. 0:30:22.170 --> 0:30:25.050 And again, that is the work of God's Spirit. And 0:30:25.050 --> 0:30:27.770 here's where you need to change. And that's the work 0:30:27.770 --> 0:30:31.250 of God's Spirit in her to direct you. So I 0:30:31.250 --> 0:30:36.530 would use these valuable subjective tools of relationship to answer 0:30:36.530 --> 0:30:37.090 the question. 0:30:37.130 --> 0:30:41.210 Okay, here's a question about the messianic Psalms. Why do 0:30:41.210 --> 0:30:46.130 they sometimes seem to have bits and pieces of messianic references, 0:30:46.130 --> 0:30:48.530 but then they transition to other content? Why not make 0:30:48.530 --> 0:30:51.970 these references more apparent? I don't understand the weaving in 0:30:51.970 --> 0:30:55.370 and out of a different scenario or different context. 0:30:55.410 --> 0:30:58.370 There is a total weaving in and out and it 0:30:58.370 --> 0:31:02.530 can surprise us or maybe even frustrate us. The revelation 0:31:02.850 --> 0:31:06.410 about Messiah we see in Psalms, and indeed the revelation 0:31:06.450 --> 0:31:10.970 of the whole Old Testament unfolds slowly. Let me illustrate 0:31:10.970 --> 0:31:15.090 it this way. Imagine you meet a new friend at church, 0:31:15.410 --> 0:31:18.890 and you talk and your relationship grows and you continue 0:31:18.890 --> 0:31:21.240 to talk and you go out for coffee and you 0:31:21.240 --> 0:31:22.880 have them over for dinner and you talk some more, 0:31:22.880 --> 0:31:26.560 and then years go on in your relationship. And that 0:31:26.720 --> 0:31:31.560 is about early on your relationship. Your conversations more shallow. 0:31:31.720 --> 0:31:34.960 And as it goes on, it's deeper and deeper and deeper. 0:31:34.960 --> 0:31:40.400 So God is revealing himself, but he doesn't download all 0:31:40.440 --> 0:31:44.480 the terabytes of his data. In Genesis one. He unfolds 0:31:44.480 --> 0:31:48.000 it slowly. And then that shows up in the Messianic Psalms, 0:31:48.000 --> 0:31:51.320 because the Psalm is relevant to the people of God 0:31:51.320 --> 0:31:56.640 when it's written. So David writes a song, a psalm, 0:31:56.680 --> 0:31:59.840 it gets sung in worship. It's relevant to its time period. 0:31:59.840 --> 0:32:03.200 But then there'll also be hints, as you mentioned, also 0:32:03.200 --> 0:32:07.200 be hints in it about the Messiah, and those things 0:32:07.240 --> 0:32:10.560 get all pieced together. Psalm after psalm after psalm after 0:32:10.560 --> 0:32:12.680 psalm after psalm. And by the time we get to 0:32:12.680 --> 0:32:14.360 the end of the Psalm, then look back on them, 0:32:14.360 --> 0:32:17.840 we say, oh, these 150 are telling us many, many, 0:32:17.840 --> 0:32:21.550 many things about the Messiah, but not all at once. 0:32:21.750 --> 0:32:24.550 It's over the course of generations that it gets told. 0:32:24.830 --> 0:32:28.590 Yeah, I'm intrigued with the the revelation of Jesus in 0:32:28.590 --> 0:32:31.670 the Old Testament in general. That's why I'm so intrigued 0:32:31.670 --> 0:32:34.830 with the the scene with Jesus on the road to 0:32:34.870 --> 0:32:39.790 Emmaus with those two. They're upset because Jesus has been crucified. And, 0:32:39.790 --> 0:32:41.790 you know, don't you even know about this? They don't 0:32:41.790 --> 0:32:43.990 know who he is. And if I if I'm quoting 0:32:43.990 --> 0:32:46.430 the phrase right, it says. And then Jesus began to 0:32:46.470 --> 0:32:50.910 show them from Moses and the prophets everything that had 0:32:50.910 --> 0:32:54.390 to do with him. So just the thought that Moses, 0:32:54.390 --> 0:32:58.870 we're talking Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, Deuteronomy, the prophets are 0:32:58.870 --> 0:33:01.350 all pointing to Jesus. That's mind blowing. 0:33:01.390 --> 0:33:05.510 That's right. The whole Old Testament looks forward to Christ. 0:33:05.550 --> 0:33:08.390 The whole Old Testament. Not every single verse, but the 0:33:08.390 --> 0:33:11.190 Old Testament as a whole looks forward to him. This 0:33:11.190 --> 0:33:13.910 is what Jesus is talking about in Matthew five. Do 0:33:13.910 --> 0:33:16.910 not think I've come to abolish the law and the prophets. 0:33:16.910 --> 0:33:19.740 I I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfill 0:33:19.740 --> 0:33:22.900 them because they look forward to me, right? I added 0:33:22.900 --> 0:33:25.500 that portion in. They look forward. They look forward to him. 0:33:25.500 --> 0:33:27.940 So his arrival fulfills them. 0:33:28.220 --> 0:33:30.620 And then what does that say about, I think, a 0:33:30.620 --> 0:33:32.860 little bit of a tendency and maybe you'll disagree, but 0:33:32.860 --> 0:33:35.100 it seems to me that a lot of churches today 0:33:35.260 --> 0:33:37.740 are just not real big on the Old Testament. We're missing. 0:33:37.740 --> 0:33:38.260 Out. 0:33:38.300 --> 0:33:42.380 Sadly. Sadly, we're not big on the Old Testament, folks. 0:33:42.660 --> 0:33:45.420 Please forgive me. The Old Testament is two thirds of 0:33:45.420 --> 0:33:50.220 your Bible. That is the Word of God. It is rich. Rich. 0:33:50.660 --> 0:33:52.140 So we ought to spend more time there. 0:33:52.660 --> 0:33:56.060 That's Doctor Gerald Peterman answering Bible questions today on the 0:33:56.060 --> 0:33:58.500 land and the book. You should know that we would 0:33:58.500 --> 0:34:00.660 love to entertain your question, whatever it might be about 0:34:00.660 --> 0:34:03.820 Scripture prophecy, the land of Israel. Here's how you connect 0:34:03.820 --> 0:34:06.300 with an email. You write us at the land and 0:34:06.300 --> 0:34:10.140 the book at Moody. That's the land and the book 0:34:10.180 --> 0:34:14.259 at Moody. All right. I have another question from Matthew, 0:34:14.300 --> 0:34:17.490 chapter 26. In verse 28, Jesus says to his disciples 0:34:17.489 --> 0:34:20.290 as they eat the Last Supper, This is my blood 0:34:20.290 --> 0:34:23.290 of the covenant which is being poured out for many 0:34:23.290 --> 0:34:26.450 for forgiveness of sins. At first glance, the verse appears 0:34:26.450 --> 0:34:29.370 to be saying, Jesus blood is not for the forgiveness 0:34:29.370 --> 0:34:32.890 of all, just many. Can you please explain this unsettling 0:34:32.890 --> 0:34:34.009 feeling I have? 0:34:34.050 --> 0:34:36.969 Oh, I can totally understand that unsettling feeling. There are 0:34:36.969 --> 0:34:38.730 two things to keep in mind that I think are 0:34:38.730 --> 0:34:41.649 going to help us. First, we should think about the 0:34:41.650 --> 0:34:45.690 word many as in contrast to few rather than many 0:34:45.690 --> 0:34:48.730 as in contrast to all. This is an Old Testament 0:34:48.730 --> 0:34:53.210 way of thinking. I'm thinking especially about Daniel 12 verse two, 0:34:53.370 --> 0:34:56.690 a very important verse, and it says, and many of 0:34:56.690 --> 0:34:59.770 those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, 0:35:00.090 --> 0:35:04.370 some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 0:35:04.530 --> 0:35:08.210 That's resurrection. Yeah, right. But we know from John chapter 0:35:08.210 --> 0:35:11.810 five that every human being will be resurrected, but two 0:35:11.850 --> 0:35:16.750 different destinies. Right? Right. So whereas John says everyone will 0:35:16.750 --> 0:35:21.150 be resurrected, Daniel says many, many in contrast to few 0:35:21.469 --> 0:35:24.950 rather than many, in contrast to all or none. So 0:35:24.950 --> 0:35:26.589 that's the first thing to keep in mind. The second 0:35:26.590 --> 0:35:28.989 thing to keep in mind is when our Lord talks 0:35:28.989 --> 0:35:31.590 about the covenant and the pouring out of his blood 0:35:31.590 --> 0:35:35.390 in Matthew 26, I take it he's drawing on Isaiah 0:35:35.390 --> 0:35:39.150 53 and using its language. What do we find there? 0:35:39.430 --> 0:35:42.750 We find the suffering servant will justify the many, as 0:35:42.750 --> 0:35:45.549 he will bear their iniquities. And he poured out his 0:35:45.550 --> 0:35:49.390 soul and was numbered among the transgressors. Yet he himself 0:35:49.390 --> 0:35:52.910 bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. 0:35:53.469 --> 0:35:57.030 What does many mean here? I take it many is 0:35:57.310 --> 0:36:01.149 a great number. So our Lord Jesus is drawing on 0:36:01.150 --> 0:36:04.030 this language from Isaiah 53. 0:36:04.070 --> 0:36:04.590 Okay. 0:36:04.630 --> 0:36:07.830 Well, a great question and thank you for your patience. Boy, 0:36:07.870 --> 0:36:10.709 many questions come to mind right when we open the 0:36:10.750 --> 0:36:12.390 Word of God. And if you've got one that you'd 0:36:12.390 --> 0:36:15.260 like to send our way, please know it's welcome again 0:36:15.260 --> 0:36:18.140 to connect with us via email at The Land and 0:36:18.140 --> 0:36:23.220 the Book at Moody's. That's the land, and the book 0:36:23.420 --> 0:36:26.819 at Moody's takes just a couple of days, or maybe 0:36:26.820 --> 0:36:28.660 a week at the very most, and you'll get an answer. 0:36:28.660 --> 0:36:31.020 And then we might just use your question in a 0:36:31.020 --> 0:36:34.779 future edition of our broadcast. Have you downloaded the podcast 0:36:34.820 --> 0:36:36.620 option yet? Have you shared it with a friend? It's 0:36:36.620 --> 0:36:38.819 a great way to extend this ministry. We don't have 0:36:38.820 --> 0:36:41.299 an advertising budget, but we do have you. And if 0:36:41.300 --> 0:36:43.460 you like what you're hearing, why not pass along the 0:36:43.460 --> 0:36:46.380 word about our podcast? You'll find it at the Land 0:36:46.420 --> 0:36:49.660 and the book org. Looking forward to connecting with your 0:36:49.660 --> 0:37:07.020 friend in mind. Charlie Dyer. He's next. It's a vanishing species. 0:37:07.300 --> 0:37:10.420 The handwritten letter. Hi, I'm John Geiger. This is the 0:37:10.420 --> 0:37:12.210 land and the book. Think about. 0:37:12.210 --> 0:37:12.290 It. 0:37:12.290 --> 0:37:14.890 When was the last time you received a letter that 0:37:14.890 --> 0:37:17.610 was written by hand? You know, there are legal letters. 0:37:17.610 --> 0:37:20.729 Of course there are love letters. But are. Our host, 0:37:20.730 --> 0:37:23.009 Charlie Dyer, is leading us in a devotional series that 0:37:23.010 --> 0:37:26.050 takes us to the Lachish letters. Charlie, is that right? 0:37:26.050 --> 0:37:27.410 That's exactly right, John. 0:37:27.450 --> 0:37:29.609 All right. Where are we headed to, biblically speaking? 0:37:29.610 --> 0:37:32.130 Well, we're heading to the city of Lachish, just about 0:37:32.130 --> 0:37:34.169 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem. 0:37:34.210 --> 0:37:36.729 All right. Looking forward to that devotional right after this 0:37:36.730 --> 0:37:40.129 perspective from an Israel traveler who's back with this thought 0:37:40.130 --> 0:37:40.930 for you and me. 0:37:45.210 --> 0:37:49.089 This is Grady Hauser. I think when we got back 0:37:49.090 --> 0:37:52.609 from Israel, we've often said, I've studied the Bible and 0:37:52.610 --> 0:37:58.050 the scriptures for 50 years. And yet, after coming back 0:37:58.050 --> 0:38:00.850 from Israel, we have we've often said that it was 0:38:00.850 --> 0:38:03.370 like reading in black and white before, and now you're 0:38:03.370 --> 0:38:06.569 reading in color. I'm sure that's not original with us, 0:38:06.570 --> 0:38:10.130 but it was certainly true for us, our experience. I 0:38:10.130 --> 0:38:13.279 would think of a couple of things very briefly, to 0:38:13.320 --> 0:38:16.920 go to the Sea of Galilee and to be on 0:38:16.920 --> 0:38:21.759 the northwest shore, and to realize that possibly within a 0:38:21.800 --> 0:38:24.520 few hundred yards, give or take, up and down that shore, 0:38:24.520 --> 0:38:27.759 you're looking at the very spot where Jesus would have 0:38:27.760 --> 0:38:30.640 talked to and Peter and John, and to have called 0:38:30.640 --> 0:38:34.760 them from their fishing to follow him. Or perhaps also, 0:38:34.760 --> 0:38:37.160 I would think of how meaningful it was to go 0:38:37.160 --> 0:38:41.200 to Caesarea Philippi and to realize why it was that 0:38:41.200 --> 0:38:44.840 Jesus walked all that way up there with his disciples, 0:38:45.520 --> 0:38:48.480 to tell them that I will build my church, and 0:38:48.480 --> 0:38:52.160 the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And 0:38:52.160 --> 0:38:54.800 what that would have meant for them sitting there at 0:38:54.800 --> 0:38:57.719 Caesarea Philippi, at that pagan shrine. 0:38:59.920 --> 0:39:03.080 Our Bibles are open now to Jeremiah chapter 34. Charlie, 0:39:03.080 --> 0:39:05.000 I think that's where you want to take us in 0:39:05.000 --> 0:39:06.160 your devotional today. 0:39:06.320 --> 0:39:09.000 That's right. And we're at the seventh in my series 0:39:09.000 --> 0:39:13.509 of 11 devotionals that I'm calling 11 inscriptions to the Bible. 0:39:13.750 --> 0:39:17.190 These are written inscriptions uncovered by archaeologists that give us 0:39:17.190 --> 0:39:20.590 new insight into our understanding of the Bible. And today's 0:39:20.590 --> 0:39:23.589 journey takes us to the Shfela, the low foothills to 0:39:23.630 --> 0:39:27.430 the southwest of Jerusalem, to visit the site of ancient Lachish. 0:39:27.710 --> 0:39:30.150 If you ask me to pick the most amazing site 0:39:30.150 --> 0:39:33.990 in Israel not visited by most tourists, I would choose 0:39:33.989 --> 0:39:37.310 this spot. It's possible you don't even recall reading about 0:39:37.310 --> 0:39:40.390 Lachish in the Bible. And even if you've been to Israel, 0:39:40.430 --> 0:39:42.989 unless you were on a study tour, it's likely you 0:39:43.030 --> 0:39:46.189 never visited the site. So why does it rank so 0:39:46.190 --> 0:39:49.469 high on my list of amazing places? And what's the 0:39:49.469 --> 0:39:52.950 inscription that was discovered here? Well, first let me tell 0:39:52.950 --> 0:39:55.990 you about the site. Lachish was the second largest city 0:39:55.989 --> 0:39:57.870 in the Kingdom of Judah at the time of the 0:39:57.870 --> 0:40:01.670 First Temple. The only city that was larger was Jerusalem, 0:40:01.950 --> 0:40:05.149 and it played a significant role in Bible history. It 0:40:05.150 --> 0:40:07.469 was one of the five cities in the coalition that 0:40:07.469 --> 0:40:12.500 attacked Gibeon at the time of Joshua. Later, following Solomon's death, 0:40:12.540 --> 0:40:15.460 Lachish was one of the 15 cities fortified by King 0:40:15.460 --> 0:40:19.460 Rehoboam to guard against attack. Another of Judah's kings was 0:40:19.460 --> 0:40:23.980 assassinated there, and the city was eventually attacked and destroyed 0:40:23.980 --> 0:40:28.299 by both King Sennacherib of Assyria and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. 0:40:28.660 --> 0:40:31.580 Both knew the strategic importance of this city for the 0:40:31.580 --> 0:40:34.859 defense of the Kingdom of Judah. It was so important 0:40:34.860 --> 0:40:37.859 that Sennacherib decorated a room in his palace with a 0:40:37.860 --> 0:40:41.660 series of reliefs showing its capture. I also like Lachish 0:40:41.660 --> 0:40:45.060 because of its archaeological potential. The city had to have 0:40:45.060 --> 0:40:47.580 a way to get water inside the walls, but it 0:40:47.580 --> 0:40:51.140 hasn't yet been discovered. One thing that has been uncovered, though, 0:40:51.140 --> 0:40:54.299 is the massive gate complex to the city. Standing at 0:40:54.300 --> 0:40:55.980 the foot of the hill and looking up at the 0:40:55.980 --> 0:40:59.260 foundations of the gate. I can see why Sennacherib boasted 0:40:59.260 --> 0:41:02.339 about capturing the city, but the inscription we want to 0:41:02.340 --> 0:41:05.500 look at today dates to just over a century after 0:41:05.500 --> 0:41:09.930 the time of Sennacherib. The enemy camped outside Lachish isn't Assyria, 0:41:09.930 --> 0:41:13.410 it's Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar has just sent his army to 0:41:13.450 --> 0:41:16.650 Judah for the third time, and this time he'll accept 0:41:16.650 --> 0:41:20.250 nothing less than the total destruction of this nation that 0:41:20.250 --> 0:41:23.650 has dared to rebel against him. The campaign against Judah 0:41:23.650 --> 0:41:28.089 was long and ferocious. Nebuchadnezzar began by systematically moving his 0:41:28.090 --> 0:41:32.489 army through the land, methodically eliminating one city after another. 0:41:32.770 --> 0:41:36.850 Toward the end, only three major cities remained. Jeremiah described 0:41:36.850 --> 0:41:39.890 it this way. Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these 0:41:39.890 --> 0:41:43.130 words to Zedekiah, king of Judah and Jerusalem. When the 0:41:43.130 --> 0:41:46.210 army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem 0:41:46.210 --> 0:41:49.209 and against all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, 0:41:49.210 --> 0:41:53.529 Lachish and Azekah. For they alone remained as fortified cities 0:41:53.530 --> 0:41:58.890 among the cities of Judah. Lachish, Azekah, and Jerusalem. Every 0:41:58.890 --> 0:42:03.529 other major town was gone, captured, destroyed. And now Nebuchadnezzar 0:42:03.530 --> 0:42:07.840 could concentrate his forces on these three remaining fortress cities. 0:42:08.160 --> 0:42:10.960 But in what order did they fall? To find the answer, 0:42:10.960 --> 0:42:13.320 we need to go inside the gate here in Lachish. 0:42:13.480 --> 0:42:17.000 So follow me up the ramp. When archaeologists excavated the 0:42:17.000 --> 0:42:19.960 plaza between the outer and inner gates of Lachish, they 0:42:19.960 --> 0:42:23.440 came across 20 pieces of broken pottery with words written 0:42:23.440 --> 0:42:26.560 on them. In this era, before papyrus or parchment was 0:42:26.560 --> 0:42:29.680 widely available, the quickest way to pen a note was 0:42:29.680 --> 0:42:32.080 to write it out on a piece of broken pottery. 0:42:32.360 --> 0:42:35.560 These pieces were found right where we're standing. A large 0:42:35.560 --> 0:42:39.040 replica of one is on display right here. The originals 0:42:39.040 --> 0:42:41.600 are in the British Museum, so today this replica will 0:42:41.600 --> 0:42:44.600 have to suffice. These notes were written to the commanding 0:42:44.600 --> 0:42:47.239 officer at Lachish by one of the army units out 0:42:47.239 --> 0:42:50.640 in the field. They were military reports intended to keep 0:42:50.640 --> 0:42:53.520 the commander informed. I want to take you back in 0:42:53.520 --> 0:42:57.520 time to the moment when this particular letter arrived. Imagine 0:42:57.520 --> 0:43:00.200 you're sitting here with the commander of the forces at Lachish. 0:43:00.480 --> 0:43:02.759 It's the middle of the night, and the soldiers on 0:43:02.760 --> 0:43:05.940 duty have just used a rope to pull an exhausted 0:43:05.940 --> 0:43:09.140 soldier over the wall. He's out of breath, partly from 0:43:09.140 --> 0:43:13.300 running for several miles and partly out of fear and exhaustion. 0:43:13.660 --> 0:43:16.620 He just snaked his way through the Babylonian lines with 0:43:16.620 --> 0:43:19.540 a message from the commander in the field. You listen 0:43:19.540 --> 0:43:22.700 intently as the city scribe reads the faint writing on 0:43:22.700 --> 0:43:25.739 the broken piece of pottery, squinting as he tries to 0:43:25.780 --> 0:43:28.020 make out the letters in the light of a flickering 0:43:28.020 --> 0:43:30.979 oil lamp. May God cause my Lord to hear this 0:43:30.980 --> 0:43:34.140 very day tidings of good. And now, according to everything 0:43:34.140 --> 0:43:36.900 which my Lord has sent, this has your servant done. 0:43:37.180 --> 0:43:39.500 I wrote on the sheet according to everything which you 0:43:39.500 --> 0:43:41.859 sent me. And inasmuch as my Lord has sent me 0:43:41.900 --> 0:43:45.779 concerning the matter of there's no one there. And as 0:43:45.780 --> 0:43:48.700 for Samuccaya, Shemaiah took him and sent him up to 0:43:48.739 --> 0:43:51.540 the city. And may my lord be appraised that we're 0:43:51.540 --> 0:43:54.580 watching for the signal fires of Lachish, according to all 0:43:54.580 --> 0:43:57.739 the signs which my lord has given, because we cannot 0:43:57.739 --> 0:44:02.140 see Azekah. The evening signal fires were a means of communication. 0:44:02.180 --> 0:44:04.930 The cities could signal to each other, and they could 0:44:04.930 --> 0:44:08.090 also use beacons to communicate with the army in the field. 0:44:08.290 --> 0:44:11.890 The distance between Lachish and Azekah was 11 miles. 11 0:44:11.890 --> 0:44:15.410 miles of strategic territory that guarded the roadways from the 0:44:15.410 --> 0:44:18.489 coast into the hill country of Judah. But now the 0:44:18.489 --> 0:44:21.530 lights of Azekah, one of the two remaining cities anchoring 0:44:21.530 --> 0:44:25.970 the region, had gone out. The message was clear. Azekah 0:44:25.969 --> 0:44:30.330 had fallen. After the fall of Azekah, Nebuchadnezzar's forces continued 0:44:30.330 --> 0:44:33.330 their assault on Lachish and Jerusalem. We don't know how 0:44:33.330 --> 0:44:36.450 much longer it took, but Lachish was the next to fall. 0:44:36.650 --> 0:44:41.490 And that left only Jerusalem. Finally, on July 18th, 586 BC, 0:44:41.610 --> 0:44:45.130 the Babylonians broke through the walls of Jerusalem after a 0:44:45.130 --> 0:44:48.570 30 month siege. The city had been starved into submission. 0:44:49.010 --> 0:44:51.250 All the food was gone. Some of the people had 0:44:51.250 --> 0:44:55.610 even resorted to cannibalism. The final assault met with little resistance, 0:44:55.610 --> 0:44:58.370 and the Babylonians pushed their way through the city in 0:44:58.370 --> 0:45:04.000 a murderous rampage of looting and revenge. Azekah, Lachish and Jerusalem. 0:45:04.160 --> 0:45:07.239 Like dominoes, each fell in order. The last of the 0:45:07.239 --> 0:45:11.040 cities standing against Babylon. And the letters discovered in the 0:45:11.040 --> 0:45:14.040 gate here at Lachish help us reconstruct the order of 0:45:14.080 --> 0:45:16.719 their fall. As we head back to the bus and 0:45:16.719 --> 0:45:19.160 get ready to board. Is there a lesson we can 0:45:19.160 --> 0:45:22.319 carry away from these broken pieces of pottery found in 0:45:22.320 --> 0:45:25.279 the city gate at Lachish? I think there is, and 0:45:25.280 --> 0:45:29.759 it's a sobering reminder to our own generation. In Jeremiah 0:45:29.760 --> 0:45:33.480 34 to 39, the prophet records the final collapse of 0:45:33.480 --> 0:45:37.040 the Kingdom of Judah, including the city of Lachish, but 0:45:37.040 --> 0:45:39.439 much earlier in his ministry, at a time when such 0:45:39.480 --> 0:45:42.759 a thing couldn't even be imagined. Jeremiah had issued a 0:45:42.760 --> 0:45:46.800 warning to those who thought they could disregard God with impunity. 0:45:47.239 --> 0:45:50.080 An appalling and horrible thing has happened to the land. 0:45:50.480 --> 0:45:54.200 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule in their 0:45:54.200 --> 0:45:57.880 own authority, and my people love it so. But what 0:45:57.880 --> 0:46:01.270 will you do at the end of it? These broken 0:46:01.270 --> 0:46:03.870 pieces of pottery remind us that there is a price 0:46:03.870 --> 0:46:08.549 to pay for ignoring, disregarding, and disobeying God. We can 0:46:08.550 --> 0:46:12.910 choose our actions, but we can't choose the consequences. Just 0:46:12.950 --> 0:46:18.069 ask the people who once lived in Azekah, Lachish, and Jerusalem. Now, 0:46:18.070 --> 0:46:20.110 if you'd like to see a photo of the Lachish 0:46:20.110 --> 0:46:22.830 Letter four on display in the city gate, or one 0:46:22.830 --> 0:46:25.870 of the other inscriptions that's on display in the British Museum, 0:46:26.190 --> 0:46:28.070 just head over to our land in the book Facebook 0:46:28.070 --> 0:46:29.830 page where I've posted them. 0:46:30.150 --> 0:46:32.469 Thank you, Charlie, for the devotional and as well for 0:46:32.469 --> 0:46:34.950 posting those photos. I love going to the Facebook page 0:46:34.989 --> 0:46:37.989 and doing exactly what you're suggesting. There are lots of 0:46:37.989 --> 0:46:41.029 great things to see. Appreciate that. Well, it's always a 0:46:41.030 --> 0:46:43.670 great visit with Charlie Dyer, our host, and with you, 0:46:43.710 --> 0:46:45.910 we want to say thank you to this station for 0:46:45.910 --> 0:46:48.350 carving out air time for the land and the book. 0:46:48.350 --> 0:46:51.069 I'm John Gager The Land and the book is a 0:46:51.070 --> 0:46:54.950 production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.