0:11

I am so glad to be back

0:13

with you. What

0:15

did I learn about the Lord during my illness and recovery?

0:18

Well, stay with me and we'll talk about that

0:21

in just a moment. Hello, friends. Welcome

0:23

to Open Line with doctor Michael Ray Moody.

0:25

Radio Bible study across

0:28

America. I'm Michael Renick, I'm

0:30

the academic dean. I'm also the professor of Jewish

0:32

studies at Moody Bible Institute. I'm

0:34

so glad to be back. Sitting

0:36

around the radio kitchen table with you,

0:39

taking your questions about the Bible,

0:41

God, and the spiritual life.

0:44

If you have a question and you'd like to call

0:46

the phone number here (877) 548-3675,

0:51

let me give you that number a little slower. You can write it

0:53

down. (877) 548-3675

1:01

I've been out for the last two months.

1:03

So grateful for the, uh, for

1:05

Tricia McMillan, who's kind of kept,

1:08

uh, Manning captaining the ship here.

1:10

And she's arranged for a couple of old

1:12

broadcasts, uh, classic

1:14

open line broadcasts from Christmas and New

1:16

Years and things like that to be rebroadcast.

1:19

She's also worked with our guest

1:21

hosts for the last couple of weeks. There

1:24

was, uh, Mike Vanlandingham,

1:27

Cisco Coto a couple of times,

1:30

and then also Mike Farber's a couple

1:32

of times. So grateful for them and for them

1:34

stepping in for me. Really appreciate that.

1:37

Uh, again, let me give you the number if you want to call

1:39

(877) 548-3675.

1:43

Tricia is our producer today. As

1:45

usual, Bob's handling all things,

1:48

uh, technical, and

1:50

Anthony's answering the phones.

1:53

Well, now it's time to go get your cup of

1:55

coffee, which I

1:57

have right here in front of me. Thank you. Tricia.

2:00

Open your Bible. Because

2:02

we're about to study the scriptures together

2:04

right around the radio kitchen table. But

2:06

before we get to your questions, let's talk

2:09

about what I learned. And there's probably

2:11

more that I've learned. But this is interesting after

2:13

surgery and

2:15

really after some really serious post-surgical

2:17

complications, I

2:20

am grateful to the Lord. He restored

2:22

my health. I'm back on the radio and

2:24

back on the job as academic dean at Moody.

2:27

I found that Psalm 30.

2:30

Captures three lessons we can all

2:32

learn when the Lord delivers us

2:34

from illness. Here's the first

2:37

God answers our prayers

2:40

for deliverance. Listen

2:42

to Psalm 30, verses one through

2:44

five. I will exalt you, Lord,

2:46

because you have lifted me up and

2:49

have not allowed my enemies to triumph

2:51

over me. Lord my God,

2:53

I cried to you for help

2:55

and you healed me. Lord,

2:58

you brought me up from Sheol. You spared me

3:00

from among those going down to the pit.

3:03

Sing to the Lord, you his faithful

3:05

ones, and praise his holy name.

3:07

For his anger lasts only a moment, but

3:09

his favor a lifetime.

3:12

Weeping may spend the night. But

3:15

there is joy in the morning.

3:18

Now we know that not everyone is healed

3:20

when we pray, but the Lord

3:22

hears every prayer

3:24

and when he chooses, he does

3:26

indeed raise us up. The

3:29

Lord delivered me from death. As the psalmist says,

3:31

you spared me from going from

3:33

among those going down to the pit. And

3:35

it was I was reminded about what

3:37

war and where's be said. We are

3:39

all immortal until our work

3:42

is done. I'm guessing the Lord decided

3:44

my work isn't done. So he answered my

3:46

prayer for deliverance and I'm really, really grateful

3:48

for it. Second,

3:50

God grants us life

3:52

so we can praise him. Here's what

3:55

Psalm 30, verses six through ten

3:57

says. When

3:59

I was secure, I said,

4:01

I will never be shaken. Lord,

4:04

when you showed your favor, you

4:06

made me stand like a strong mountain.

4:09

When you hid your face I

4:11

was terrified. Lord,

4:13

I call to you. I

4:16

sought favor from my Lord. What

4:18

gain is there in my death if I go down to

4:20

the pit? Will the dust praise you?

4:23

Will it proclaim your truth? Lord,

4:26

listen and be gracious to me,

4:29

Lord. Be

4:31

my helper. Let's be

4:33

real. When we read this verse,

4:36

I'm reminded that God doesn't need us

4:38

to praise him. If we don't

4:40

praise the Lord Jesus as he said, the very

4:42

stones would cry out. But

4:44

the psalmist says, if

4:46

I go down to the pit, will the dust praise you?

4:49

Will it proclaim your truth? When

4:52

the Lord grants us life, as verse

4:54

nine says, we can praise him and

4:56

proclaim his truth. If

4:58

I were to ask what's God's will for my life? This

5:00

verse makes it clear it is so

5:02

I can go on praising God

5:05

and proclaiming the truth of His Word.

5:08

That's what God wants of my life

5:10

now that he's granted me life. Finally,

5:13

third lesson God turns our

5:15

stress and sorrow into joy

5:18

and gladness. Listen

5:20

to the conclusion of Psalm 30 and verses 11

5:23

and 12. You turn my

5:25

lament into dancing.

5:27

You remove my sackcloth and clothed

5:29

me with gladness, so that I can

5:31

sing to you and not be silent.

5:33

Lord my God, I

5:36

will praise you forever. God's

5:38

answers to our prayers for deliverance should make

5:41

us even keep us joyful.

5:44

There's someone in my life who seems to be a source

5:46

of stress and trouble almost

5:49

all the time. Just yesterday I was

5:51

reminded by my friend. That

5:54

I need to choose to focus on all these

5:56

good things that God has done for me,

5:58

turning my lament into

6:00

dancing and my clothing and clothing

6:02

me with joy. Rather

6:04

than becoming caught up in the challenges of this

6:07

stress. Creator as

6:09

Tim Hansel titled his book You

6:11

Gotta Keep Dancing. And

6:13

that's what I intend to do. Psalm

6:15

30 is a great reminder for us

6:17

to pray when we face serious challenges,

6:20

prays when we are delivered, and

6:22

to persist in staying

6:24

joyful. That's

6:30

the three great reminders of

6:33

this. I'm sure there are other lessons I have learned

6:36

and will learn that will become apparent.

6:38

I'm not sure I'll get the chance to talk to them,

6:40

but Psalm 30 was a great reminder for

6:42

me. Uh, before we go to the phones,

6:44

I do want to mention our current

6:46

our new resource for the new year at

6:49

the New Year. People often start

6:52

Bible reading programs, I encourage them.

6:55

But they very quickly become discouraged.

6:57

I think it's usually when they hit Leviticus. Uh,

6:59

people become discouraged. And

7:02

it's because some people think the Bible

7:04

is just too complex to read. But

7:07

God never intended

7:09

to frustrate us. If reading

7:12

God's Word intimidates you, then I

7:14

have the perfect resource for you. It's

7:16

called living by the book.

7:18

It was written by master teacher Howard Hendricks.

7:20

He was my professor at Dallas Seminary

7:23

who taught me, and he thought taught

7:25

thousands of other students how

7:27

to study the Bible. That's what this book is about,

7:30

how to study the Bible. And

7:32

this book will give you confidence to read

7:34

God's Word with understanding. And

7:36

and it will help you see the Bible's relevance

7:39

to everyday life. Uh, Prof.

7:41

Hendricks used to always say, you

7:43

haven't studied until

7:45

you've applied. So he wanted us

7:47

not just to understand the meaning of the

7:49

text, but to apply

7:51

the text to our lives. Uh,

7:54

that's a great book. And

7:56

it's yours. When you give a gift of any size

7:59

to open line, all you have to do.

8:01

Uh, and we want to say thank you. So we'll send you this

8:03

book, uh, when you, uh,

8:06

would like to receive this, uh, you can

8:08

give this way you can call (888) 644-7122,

8:14

or you just go online to open line radio.org.

8:17

But remember, when you give ask for

8:19

living by the book by Howard Hendricks.

8:22

Well, we are going

8:24

to go to the phones. Uh,

8:26

and we're going to start with Thelma

8:28

in Fort Myers, Florida, listening on

8:30

WLKY's. Welcome

8:33

to Open Line. Thelma. How can I help

8:35

you today?

8:37

Good morning, Michael, and glad

8:39

you're back. Thank you. Paula. Long

8:41

time listener and a fellow

8:44

Brooklynite as yourself.

8:45

Oh, good.

8:46

Um. My question. My

8:49

question is that I have a

8:51

family member who I have obviously

8:53

offended. I have apologized

8:57

numerous times. They are Christian.

9:00

They say, you know, oh, it's

9:02

okay, I forgive you, blah, blah, blah.

9:04

But they still treat me,

9:06

you know, with the left foot of fellowship.

9:09

And I've tried very, very hard,

9:12

uh, to, you know,

9:14

just overlook it. But,

9:18

you know, um, I,

9:21

I still feel bad because,

9:23

you know, how many times do I have to

9:25

apologize and. Yeah. And

9:29

be treated poorly.

9:30

Well, there's a proverb that says a brother

9:32

offended his harder one than a walled city.

9:36

Meaning, uh, when

9:38

we offend someone, even when they give lip

9:40

service to forgiveness. It's

9:43

hard to win them back. You

9:46

know. Right. Uh, and,

9:49

uh. It's.

9:51

It's in a waltz. You know, the great defense

9:53

of a city was the walls around it in ancient

9:55

times. And that's what, uh,

9:58

uh, caused people

10:00

to I think, uh,

10:03

that's what this proverb is talking about, that

10:06

a brother offended is harder when than a walled city.

10:08

You know, it's it's it takes a lot

10:10

of effort to defeat a walled city.

10:13

Uh, and so there's

10:15

a couple of things I would suggest. One.

10:18

Uh, I would try one more time, get together,

10:21

meet with them, and then,

10:23

uh, just tell them how sincere you

10:25

are in your, uh. In

10:28

your apology and how sorry you are.

10:31

Also, see if there's any restitution

10:33

you can make, any way you can make it up to

10:35

them to show how sincere you are.

10:37

That's one of the things in the Bible that you know, the guilt

10:39

offerings were restitution offerings.

10:42

So not only do they provide atonement

10:44

before God, but they provided restitution

10:46

for the person who was sinned against. And

10:48

so, uh, I think

10:50

that that's something that that sometimes we forget

10:53

that one of the ways that we can, uh,

10:55

really create. A

10:57

restored relationship is with

10:59

an attempt at finding out what you can

11:01

do to restore what kind

11:03

of restitution you could make.

11:06

Uh, and then the

11:09

last thing is, when you put every

11:11

effort you can into this and it

11:13

still doesn't resolve. You

11:15

just have to remember Romans 1218.

11:18

And and this is something that's

11:21

a little bit harder. But

11:24

it's something that I have found that some people just

11:26

can't be restored. They can't be. They

11:28

won't really ever forgive. And that's their

11:30

problem, not yours. You

11:32

know, that's that's that's

11:34

important to remember in Romans 1218

11:37

says, if possible on your part,

11:40

live at peace with everyone, meaning

11:43

whatever you do, you've

11:45

made every effort to to bring reconciliation

11:48

and peace if possible.

11:51

You know, do your best with that. Once it's

11:53

not possible, you just, you know, God

11:55

bless him and just, you know, don't

11:57

be hostile, don't be angry,

11:59

but just write, uh, let it

12:01

go. You know, that's what I would say.

12:04

Uh, but that's what I think. I, I

12:06

think first of all, uh, just

12:08

remember. That it's

12:10

it's a challenge. That's the first lesson

12:12

from the proverb, which I can't remember the reference. My

12:15

wife will text it to me in a moment and you'll

12:17

hear it. Uh, a brother

12:19

offended his harder won than a walled city.

12:21

Uh, but it's from the Book of Proverbs.

12:23

So remember, it's a challenge. It's hard to win

12:26

someone once they've been offended. Secondly,

12:28

make a second effort. Uh, or

12:30

a third or fourth or how many efforts you've made.

12:32

But this time include the idea of restitution.

12:35

And thirdly, if it doesn't

12:37

work, then just trust

12:39

that that you've done all you can and

12:42

you've done everything to live at peace,

12:44

if possible. Okay.

12:47

Amen. Thank you so much.

12:49

Uh, glad that you're back and that you continue

12:52

to recuperate.

12:53

Thank you. I'm doing great. Thank you so much for

12:55

for that. And by the way, I want to say thank

12:57

you, not just for those words, but there were people

12:59

who I was so surprised when, uh,

13:02

when it was mentioned on the radio that I was out recovering

13:04

from surgery and had some issues.

13:06

Uh, I got all these cards at the Moody

13:09

Bible Institute address, and I am really,

13:11

really grateful for it. And, uh,

13:13

a lot of people posted on Facebook that they were

13:15

praying for me. And I am

13:17

grateful for every prayer and every kind

13:19

thought and, uh, every, every

13:21

good wish that I received. And so

13:24

thank you, Thelma, for that and for everyone

13:26

else who's listening. Who did that? Thanks so

13:28

much. Uh, well, we're going to go to a break now.

13:30

Thanks for your call, Thelma. When we come back.

13:33

It. Just look up. Proverbs 1819.

13:36

A brother offended is harder won

13:38

than a walled city. Will come back with more of your questions

13:40

in just a moment. Uh, you're listening

13:43

to Mike Dolnick right here on

13:45

Open Line. Stay with us. We're coming right

13:47

back. We're

14:06

back. I'm back after

14:08

a couple of months. I'm really grateful for that. And

14:10

I'm glad to be with you today. Uh,

14:13

my name is Michael. Right. Dominic. This program is called

14:15

Open Line. If you have a question about the

14:17

Bible or God or the spiritual life,

14:19

just give us a call. (877) 548-3675.

14:27

Feel free to call with your question

14:29

about the Bible, uh, whatever

14:31

it may be, or if you want to know something about

14:34

what people call doctrine, I think it's

14:36

those are truths about God. So if you have

14:38

questions about God or if you just want a

14:40

little help in your walk with the Lord about the

14:42

spiritual life, this is the time

14:45

to call. Really appreciate it. Uh, that

14:47

you're listening. Uh, before

14:49

I go right to the next call,

14:51

I do want to mention that

14:54

I was one of the things that amazed me so much

14:56

while I was out

14:58

was that we had, well, I

15:00

think partially we had some great guest hosts.

15:03

Uh, they did a fantastic job. And there

15:05

were some really good rebroadcasts

15:07

of, of, uh, all time favorite

15:10

programs. And so that was really great.

15:12

But our kitchen

15:14

table partners more

15:16

and more responded even while I was

15:19

out, which that really made me happy because

15:21

it showed me that they valued what this

15:23

program is doing. And,

15:26

uh, not just, uh,

15:28

me personally, uh, which I

15:31

appreciate, of course, that people might like me, but

15:33

the the thing that I really appreciated

15:35

was that people kept on,

15:38

uh, joining up as kitchen table partners

15:40

so that they could be part of the team

15:43

here. You know, we've got a great team that works here.

15:45

I don't do this program alone. And

15:47

even when I'm not part of the team for a couple of months,

15:50

uh, people still want to join up and and

15:52

keep us on the air. And I so appreciate

15:54

it. Uh, if you become a kitchen table

15:56

partner, what that means is giving on a monthly basis for

15:58

a year, uh, to open

16:00

line. So, uh, that

16:02

we can, you know, count on your. Your support

16:05

keeps us on the air. It's. So

16:08

this partnership is so

16:10

important. I hope you'll consider if you're

16:12

listening, you value this. You're a regular

16:14

listener. And and this has helped you

16:16

and your walk with the Lord. Maybe

16:18

you'd consider becoming a kitchen table

16:20

partner, too. And if you do, I send out

16:23

a special audio Bible study

16:25

every hour of the month prepared just for

16:27

our kitchen table partners. It comes in the mail

16:29

email. You click on it, listen to it. It's about

16:31

five minutes and you get to have a little

16:33

time in the word with me. That's just for

16:36

our kitchen table. Partners. Become

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a kitchen table partner. Today. All you have to do is

16:40

call (888) 644-7122.

16:44

Or you can sign up online at Open

16:46

Line radio.org.

16:49

So we're going to talk to Gaston

16:51

in Pompano, Pompano Beach

16:53

Florida. Listening would be

16:55

welcome to Open Line Gaston.

16:58

Good morning.

16:59

Hey, you know, I'm coming down to that area,

17:02

uh, on January 19th

17:05

and 20th for

17:07

a. Yes. I heard it's a joint conference.

17:10

I'll let everyone else know who's in the South. Florida.

17:12

Even if people are in Central Florida,

17:14

they could drive over. Uh, it's a

17:16

special conference about standing

17:18

with Israel, and

17:20

it's going to be January 19th

17:22

and 20th. It's a it's a moody

17:24

radio joint conference with

17:26

Chosen People Ministries. And,

17:29

uh, it's down in Boca Raton and,

17:32

uh, I'll be speaking and

17:35

also William Washington, our vice

17:37

president of student life here at Moody Bible Institute.

17:40

He'll be speaking. And, uh,

17:42

Rich Freeman, who is the vice

17:44

president of Chosen People Ministries, will be speaking

17:46

also on Saturday morning, will be doing

17:48

a two hour live program

17:51

with, uh, a live audience.

17:54

And they'll be asking

17:56

the questions. I'm pretty excited about that. Trish

17:58

will be there. I know everyone goes to those

18:00

live programs so they can meet Trish. So,

18:03

uh, that's that's just a great time. I

18:05

love doing those programs. And so

18:08

if you're in the Florida, South Florida area

18:10

and you want to join us January 19th

18:12

and 20th, just go. Do we have

18:14

it linked on our website? Tricia,

18:17

uh, Trish is adding it to our website right

18:19

now. So if you're interested, you can click on

18:21

that and find out more about

18:23

the conference in January. Go ahead. Uh, Gaston,

18:26

what's your question?

18:28

Well, it's two questions that both

18:30

about the Levites I

18:32

heard for the first

18:34

time, and I wanted you to see

18:36

what you what your take is on

18:39

this, that the Levites had to

18:41

when they did the work of the ministry

18:43

in the tabernacle and in the tent

18:45

of meaning, that they have to retire

18:47

at the age of 50. Have you heard anything about

18:50

that?

18:50

Yeah, it's in the Bible. Uh,

18:52

the, uh, number

18:55

may you have to go back and read

18:57

the, uh, the Torah again. Numbers

19:00

eight. Here's what it says in verse

19:02

20. Uh

19:04

three, the Lord spoke to Moses.

19:06

Now, verse 24, in regard to

19:08

the Levites from 25

19:11

years old or more,

19:13

a man enters the service in the

19:15

work at the tent of meeting.

19:18

But at 50 years old,

19:20

he is to retire from his service

19:22

in the work and no longer

19:24

serve. He may assist his

19:26

brothers to fulfill release at the

19:28

tent of meeting, but he must not do

19:30

the work. This is how you are to

19:32

deal with the Levites regarding

19:35

their duties. So

19:37

that's that's a biblical direction,

19:41

uh, about a 25

19:43

year term for

19:46

being a a

19:49

pre, uh, Levite. That's

19:51

that's what it's about. So what's

19:53

your question about that?

19:55

Well now, Zechariah, the one

19:57

that the angel made John because he didn't

19:59

believe. Was he under

20:01

50 or was he assisting? What

20:03

would be your.

20:05

I think he was under 50. You

20:07

know, he he was an older

20:09

dad, but he was actually serving

20:12

and uh, the,

20:15

you know, uh, I

20:18

became a dad for the first time when

20:20

I was about 25 or 26.

20:22

So that's, I think, a fairly normal

20:25

age. Uh, and

20:27

so, uh, he was older. So

20:30

if he was in his 40s, for example, he'd still

20:32

be serving, but he would have been an

20:34

older dad. Uh.

20:36

Okay.

20:38

And and the reason for it, I just,

20:40

I I've always thought this is that

20:42

being a Levite

20:45

was a lot of work. It was heavy

20:47

lifting. And,

20:49

uh, I think that it was just. Because

20:53

of that. It's sort of like today

20:55

we often have about a 25 year term

20:58

or 21 year term for police officers.

21:00

They don't they're not forced to retire. But

21:03

it's a hard job. And

21:05

therefore there's a limited time for

21:08

for police officers to serve

21:11

if they want, before they can get

21:13

a pension. And the same thing with the military

21:15

and the same there. There are hard jobs.

21:17

And that's, that's I think what

21:19

this was, this is a very hard it was very demanding

21:21

physically. And so I

21:23

know that I am past 50 now

21:25

and I don't have the strength I did when I was in my 40s.

21:28

Even so, that's what

21:30

I think it was.

21:31

That that helps me a lot

21:33

because I always thought Zachary was older, but

21:36

now, you know. Yeah, that that helps

21:38

me a lot. I really appreciate

21:40

you. Really appreciate your time.

21:42

Great. Thanks. Thanks for your call. Uh.

21:44

Appreciate it. We're going to talk to

21:46

less in Seville, Ohio

21:49

listening on WKF. Welcome to Open

21:51

Line. Les. How can I help you today?

21:53

Hi, Michael. Welcome back.

21:55

Thank you. It's good to be back.

21:58

My question regards.

22:00

Um, in the time of Jesus,

22:03

when he was talking to the woman at the well

22:05

and he said that she had had five

22:08

husbands and the one she was

22:10

with now, she was not was not

22:12

her husband. What did

22:14

Jesus consider a legitimate

22:16

marriage in that time?

22:19

And then also back in the Old Testament,

22:21

sometimes it would just say so-and-so

22:24

took so-and-so to be their wife.

22:26

Yeah. And so I'm just curious as

22:28

to what right was that? There

22:30

was we.

22:31

Know with Jacob, for example,

22:34

he brought her into his tent. It doesn't say

22:36

there was. He brought first. He

22:38

was thought he was bringing, uh,

22:40

uh, Rachel in into

22:43

his tent, but he brought Leah because

22:45

I think he was a little

22:48

happy, let's put it that way from,

22:50

uh, the the the celebration. It

22:52

appears therefore, for. That,

22:55

uh. That.

22:57

It seems to me that there must have been some

23:00

oath, some vows, some ceremony

23:02

that took place and some celebration

23:04

before the consummation of

23:07

the wedding. That's why, uh, he

23:09

was he was like, in that condition

23:11

that he was in, uh, you

23:14

know, later on.

23:16

Uh, it does appear that

23:18

there is some sort of recognition,

23:20

some public recognition, uh,

23:22

when when Boaz takes Ruth

23:25

as his wife. So it's not

23:27

just that he takes her into his

23:29

tent or into his home, but there's some

23:31

sort of formal, uh,

23:34

uh, perspective on that. By the time you come to

23:36

the first century in Judaism,

23:39

uh, there was the.

23:42

Formal, uh,

23:45

betrothal. Followed

23:47

by the vows.

23:51

Uh, that's that's, uh,

23:54

the way Judaism and I think that's what the Lord

23:56

Jesus recognized as marriage.

23:58

Uh, that there would be the betrothal then followed

24:01

by the vows. Uh, and so,

24:04

uh, it appears that what

24:06

the Lord Jesus, now, the Samaritan woman had

24:09

similar kind of rules, but

24:11

not the same. But he would be recognizing

24:13

that there was a formal statement

24:16

of vows in the last man she was with. She was

24:18

not, uh, she had not made

24:20

those vows with. She was just living with him. That's

24:22

what it sounds like. So let's

24:24

but I do think for us today, I think

24:27

that there needs to be, uh, a

24:29

recognition that whatever the legal

24:31

responsibility is for

24:33

making a public declaration of marriage, whether

24:35

it's, uh, taking vows before a judge

24:37

or before a clergyman, uh,

24:40

that that as you make your

24:42

vows, uh, and sign the document.

24:44

That's what makes you married.

24:47

Right. And so then, like with the woman

24:49

at the well, with Jesus

24:51

view on marriage and divorce,

24:54

it was only considered

24:56

legitimate divorce and remarriage

24:58

if there was unfaithfulness. And

25:00

the Apostle Paul also reflected

25:03

that. Yeah. So we assumed

25:05

that that woman had unfaithful

25:08

husbands five times.

25:10

No, it doesn't sound like that to me. Sounds

25:12

to me, you know, remember, in the first century

25:14

there were different. They weren't living

25:16

by the the standards that the Lord Jesus

25:19

had for marriage and

25:21

divorce. And so. Uh,

25:24

it was much easier in in

25:26

Judaism, I know far more about Judaism than I

25:28

do about Samaritan, but Judaism

25:31

was just the husband issuing a bill of divorce.

25:34

Uh, and that was sufficient with witnesses

25:37

for a divorce for any reason. So,

25:40

uh, yeah, that I don't think

25:42

we can assume that she was, uh,

25:44

legitimately, in Jesus words, divorced.

25:47

Hey, thanks for your call, les. Thanks for your. We'll

25:49

be right back with the mailbag in just a moment,

25:51

so don't go away. Welcome

26:05

back to Open Line with me, Michael

26:07

Ray Jelinek. So glad to be back with you. Here

26:09

comes Tricia McMillan. She's dragging the mailbag,

26:12

the feedback mailbag.

26:15

I'm so grateful to Far Eastern Broadcasting

26:18

Company that partners with Moody

26:20

Radio to help bring you open Line, and

26:23

you can get a deeper perspective on how the gospel

26:25

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26:28

in the most unreached countries.

26:30

Through the weekly podcast called

26:32

Until All I Have heard with that canon. All

26:36

the details for this podcast and

26:38

much, much more about Phoebe's

26:41

extensive outreach can be found

26:43

at this website. F

26:45

e b c

26:48

dawg, have you? Because that's

26:51

the place to go to find out about that.

26:53

Uh, hey, you know what, Trish? We ought to,

26:56

uh, welcome Trish. I'm glad

26:58

to see you. Thank you.

26:59

It's nice to see you, too. We ought to.

27:00

Get Ed Cannon from Phoebe C on some

27:02

time just to talk about, uh,

27:04

the, uh, the mailbag

27:07

and why he, uh, really

27:09

supports Open Line. And he was

27:11

the first one that ever said he wanted me on the radio

27:14

when he was the vice president of Moody,

27:16

uh, and overseeing radio. He said he

27:19

said to me one day after class, he says, I

27:21

would like to hear you on the radio. I

27:23

was like, oh, yeah, well, that's interesting.

27:25

So and

27:27

he's been a long time listener to Open

27:29

Line even before you were on the air.

27:31

Yeah. He says the past was on the air. Yeah. He

27:33

used to listen to Open Line then, too. Yeah, we

27:35

ought to get him on.

27:36

That'd be a lot of fun. Yeah. So. Okay, I'll

27:38

work on that. I'm giving her work for the new year. There we

27:40

go. Hey, happy new year. Happy New year

27:42

to you, too. We haven't seen each other for a while.

27:44

No, it's been like two months. I was looking back through the calendar

27:46

and I was like, oh, it's been,

27:48

I think November 4th. Yeah.

27:50

That was, uh, it's been a really long time.

27:53

So it's really good to see you. Yeah.

27:54

And, uh, you know what? It's

27:56

it's just like, you know, like

27:59

getting back on a bicycle. No problem. You

28:01

know, I'm. I feel like so

28:03

far, everything's just normal, so. Thank

28:05

you.

28:05

Good. Yeah.

28:06

You made it that way. Thank you so much for.

28:08

All you did well. And thank you to the listeners for praying,

28:10

too. Um, for those who missed the very beginning

28:12

of the program, um, or have kind

28:14

of tuned in sporadically over the last two months,

28:17

um, we've had some guest hosts filling in for

28:19

you while you recovered from some surgery

28:22

complications, and you're back and

28:24

we're happy you're here.

28:26

Yeah, I'm glad to be back. And, uh, by the way,

28:28

if you just turned it tuned in. Now, go back

28:30

to the the Moody Radio

28:32

app later, or to the,

28:35

uh, website or even if you

28:37

if you can podcast it, you can catch

28:39

the opening word where I talked a little bit about Psalm

28:41

30, which I think was a really encouraging first

28:43

to me. Uh, I read it to Iva

28:45

today and uh, she's like,

28:47

oh, let me write those down. And she it

28:50

was kind of fun. So okay, well,

28:52

let's, let's, uh, let's talk about some of the Facebook

28:54

mailbag questions.

28:55

Okay. The first question is from Judith

28:57

in Illinois. She listens to Wbai

29:00

and wants to know if you could explain the chronology

29:02

of the birth of Jesus. Um,

29:05

so more in terms, there's a lot between

29:07

Matthew and Luke of different events

29:10

there, um, that are happening.

29:12

And so you've got him being Jesus

29:14

is born in Bethlehem. He's circumcised

29:16

on the eighth day and she's not, you know, was that in Bethlehem

29:19

or Jerusalem? He's presented at the

29:21

temple, which I assume was Jerusalem,

29:23

um, after Mary's purification, then

29:25

visited by the Magi. Where was that?

29:28

Um, are they traveling back and forth?

29:30

How far is that? So? Kind of just

29:33

a geography lesson,

29:35

I guess. And a time frame of,

29:38

um, for those of us not familiar

29:40

with Jewish customs at a birth,

29:43

how, um, where are how long are

29:45

these things? And were there certain places they had to be done?

29:48

Okay. Well, I think one of the biggest

29:50

issues, as I think about what the scriptures

29:52

say, uh, even

29:55

near the end of the Luke narrative,

29:58

uh, it

30:00

says after he was

30:02

I'll talk about this in a moment,

30:04

but, uh, the,

30:06

the dedication. But

30:09

it says after he was, uh.

30:12

Uh, dedicated. Uh,

30:14

when they completed everything. This is Luke

30:16

chapter two, verse 39. When they completed

30:19

everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned

30:21

to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

30:24

The boy grew up and became strong, filled

30:26

with wisdom, and God's grace was with him. That's 239

30:28

and 40 and people say, wait a minute, there's nothing

30:31

about going to Egypt. There's nothing about

30:33

the Magi. Right? Right.

30:35

So, well,

30:38

uh, so that's why I think people

30:40

have questions about the chronology of

30:42

everything. Uh, I always say

30:44

it's the Magi

30:47

visit and the the

30:50

flight to Egypt took place between verses 38

30:52

and 39. And Luke didn't think it was significant

30:54

to include which that's

30:57

what happens with different writers. They will

30:59

include and exclude certain

31:01

things. Okay. So what happens first

31:03

you've got the annunciation to Elizabeth,

31:07

uh, then a, uh, several months later,

31:09

the Annunciation to

31:11

Mary. So one was about the birth of John the Baptist.

31:13

The other is to Mary, obviously, the pregnancy

31:15

for Mary or as her.

31:18

You know what Mary's real name was? Miriam. Yeah.

31:20

Yeah, I, I have to remind

31:22

myself to say Mary on the air. But I

31:25

always think of her as Miriam. I have a sister named

31:27

Miriam. So.

31:28

And this is the difference in the names

31:30

is because of what?

31:31

Hebrew versus Greek.

31:33

Okay. Mary is the Greek version

31:35

of Miriam. Yeah. Okay.

31:37

Uh, and so anyway,

31:39

so then she, uh,

31:42

gives birth, there's a

31:45

some sort of taxation that causes

31:48

the requirement for Joseph, who

31:50

thought about divorcing her. But the angel

31:53

of the Lord comes. The angel comes and tells

31:55

him not to divorce, to take her as his

31:57

wife. And he does, but he doesn't

31:59

sleep with her, uh,

32:01

until after she gives birth. Uh,

32:04

that's what the text actually says, which there

32:06

are many people who think that Mary or Miriam

32:09

was a perpetual virgin. Probably

32:11

not based on what the text says. Uh,

32:13

then they. Uh,

32:16

they go down for the taxation to

32:18

the city of David because they're both from the line of David,

32:20

and they have to pay taxes there. And

32:22

they go to Bethlehem, the hometown

32:25

of David, where they're going to pay taxes.

32:27

There's no room in the guest house, uh,

32:29

in the guest room. And so,

32:31

uh, for privacy, probably, they say go

32:33

stay with the animals in the stable.

32:36

Birth is, uh, the Messiah is born.

32:39

Uh, the, uh, shepherds

32:41

come and adore him. That night,

32:43

they celebrate his birth. That

32:45

very night of his birth. Eight days

32:48

later is his circumcision,

32:50

which Luke talks about. He goes to be

32:52

circumcised from Bethlehem,

32:55

apparently, to Jerusalem. Uh,

32:58

it's about ten kilometers. Uh,

33:01

eight miles from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

33:04

So it wasn't a big trip.

33:07

It was easily done. And,

33:09

uh, or actually six miles.

33:11

Six months. I don't work out very much, so

33:13

that does not sound easy to me, but they

33:16

would have been used to walking.

33:17

Yeah. Six miles. Not a big deal. Okay.

33:19

Uh, and maybe they took that donkey, you know, from.

33:21

Right. Uh, and, uh, so

33:23

six miles and the baby

33:26

there is circumcised.

33:28

The Messiah's circumcised. And then at 30

33:30

days, according to Luke, that's when they meet

33:32

Simeon, uh, at his at

33:34

his dedication. Uh.

33:37

That would be also in Jerusalem.

33:39

Uh, yes.

33:41

Uh, that was at the temple?

33:42

Yeah, at the temple. Uh,

33:44

and so they go

33:46

and they they go to Jerusalem again,

33:49

probably still in Bethlehem, maybe still

33:51

staying with that family. Uh, they

33:53

go and have him dedicated.

33:56

And then, as I said, you have verse

33:58

38, they, uh,

34:00

they go back from Jerusalem

34:03

to Galilee to

34:05

Nazareth. But what we know from Matthew

34:07

is there is the visit of the wise

34:09

men from the East. Uh, they

34:11

come seeking the King of the Jews. Herod

34:13

sends them there. Then there's the slaughter of the innocent.

34:15

The angel warns Joseph sends them away

34:18

to Egypt when Herod

34:21

dies. Shortly thereafter, they go

34:23

back. Now, this whole thing about

34:25

the Lord Jesus being an immigrant, he was not an immigrant.

34:28

He. They went to Egypt

34:30

for a few months. Uh, it was

34:32

just a very quick refugee status,

34:35

uh, so that they could be safe.

34:37

Then they came back. Uh, not

34:39

at all like the immigration and refugees

34:41

that we have today. They they wanted

34:44

to go back to Bethlehem for some reason.

34:46

But in Judea, uh, Archelaus

34:49

was reigning, it says in Matthew. And

34:51

Archelaus made Herod the Great looked like a nice guy.

34:53

And so he, you know, because Herod

34:55

the Great had divided his kingdom into,

34:58

uh, among his sons and Archelaus,

35:01

Herod was there in,

35:03

in, uh, Judea. So they said,

35:05

ah, let's go back where Herod Antipas

35:07

was reigning. In Nazareth

35:10

over Galilee. Herod Antipas

35:12

was not a great guy either, but he wasn't as bad as

35:14

Archelaus. So they went to Nazareth and that's where

35:16

they settled. Went back home, so to speak.

35:19

They decided not to live in their ultimate

35:21

hometown there. Bethlehem, the city

35:23

of David. But they went back to where they were

35:25

living in Nazareth. And that's sort of the chronology

35:27

of what happened.

35:28

Okay. All right. Thank you

35:30

for that question, Judith. And thank you for that answer.

35:34

I appreciate it. Um. Next

35:36

question. Hmm. Uh.

35:40

Maureen in Indiana, listens to

35:42

Wbai and wants to know in James

35:44

one one. What

35:46

is the dispersion mentioned?

35:49

So the verse says James, a bond servant

35:51

of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

35:53

to the 12 tribes who are dispersed

35:56

abroad. Greetings. Yeah.

35:58

It's in Hebrew that the

36:00

exile. Uh,

36:03

it's a technical term. Some

36:06

people call it the diaspora, and

36:09

it is the term that refers

36:12

to Jewish people who were

36:14

scattered abroad. It's mentioned,

36:16

for example, in the the, uh,

36:18

book of the history of the Jews

36:21

by Josephus. He

36:23

talks about. By the first century, there

36:25

isn't any place where the diaspora

36:27

in the known world had not reached that

36:30

Jewish people had scattered. Over

36:32

the known world. They were in

36:35

Rome. Uh, they were in Asia.

36:37

They were. And you could see that in

36:39

in the book of acts,

36:42

just about every city that Paul goes to,

36:44

and he's preaching the gospel in Asia minor

36:46

and then all the way into Europe. Where

36:48

does he go first? To preach the gospel to

36:50

the synagogue. And that's

36:52

referring to the diaspora or the dispersion.

36:55

My Bible, the. I have

36:57

an old CSB right

36:59

here and it says, uh,

37:01

there's a footnote by dispersion. It says

37:03

Jewish people scattered throughout

37:06

Gentile lands who spoke Greek

37:08

and were influenced by Greek culture.

37:11

They were Hellenistic Jews because

37:13

of of that. And so, uh,

37:15

they were scattered abroad. So really,

37:17

the book of James. Now, remember what James real

37:19

name is in Greek,

37:21

Jacobus in Hebrew,

37:24

Yakov or Jacob. So

37:26

every time you see the word James in the Bible,

37:28

just remember it really should be the book of Jacob.

37:32

Uh. And Jesus should be Joshua.

37:34

Yeah. Yeshua. Yeshua.

37:36

Yeah. Is that the same as Joshua? Yeah.

37:38

Yeah, sure. Yeah. Okay. Uh.

37:41

I, I just want to keep the names

37:44

we have. If I can keep those straight.

37:45

But the thing is, Jesus really does relate. It's

37:47

the Greek way of saying Joshua. But

37:50

Jacob in Greek

37:52

is is Jacobus. Yeah, and

37:54

it is not James.

37:57

There was a king in the about 1611

38:00

that apparently influenced

38:02

the translators to take Jacob and make it James

38:04

in the New Testament. So

38:07

I say, yeah, it's not that James is the

38:09

wrong name. But anyway, so here's, uh,

38:11

Jacob, the brother of the Lord Jesus, and

38:13

he's writing. He's the leader of the

38:15

Assembly of Jewish People in Jerusalem,

38:19

the original Jewish community

38:21

of faith, of believers

38:24

in Jerusalem, the Jewish, uh,

38:26

it's the messianic synagogue of Jerusalem

38:28

or the Church of Jerusalem, right. It's

38:30

all Jews. And he sort of has a,

38:33

uh, overseer perspective

38:36

as, as, uh, among Jewish

38:38

believers around the globe. And he writes

38:40

this book specifically

38:42

to Jewish believers in the diaspora.

38:45

That's what the Book of Jacob or James

38:47

is about. And he says that with

38:49

his audience. And so just like the book of Hebrews

38:52

before it written to Jewish believers,

38:54

but these were in Jerusalem in the book of Hebrews,

38:56

in the book of James, they're written to the Galoot to

38:59

the diaspora.

39:00

Were they were they

39:03

um. Diaspora.

39:05

Were they scattered because of choice

39:08

or because of persecution, or was it kind of

39:10

a mix of both?

39:11

It's a mix of both. Uh, the

39:13

there was scattering. That

39:16

really began with the Jewish people going to Babylon,

39:18

the exile, right in 586

39:20

BC. And before that

39:23

the northern tribes went to Assyria.

39:27

And then what happened was many came back

39:29

to the land of Israel, but not then others

39:31

because of circumstances, because of,

39:34

uh, persecution, because

39:36

of economic opportunity. They

39:38

scattered across the Roman Empire.

39:41

Okay. And and that's what that's about. Okay.

39:43

So all right. Thank you. Thanks for that question, Maureen.

39:45

Yeah. So anyway, that's

39:47

that's so much fun to to

39:50

I think, you know, sometimes I think it would be great for everyone

39:52

to take a course in Jewish history would be interesting.

39:54

Yes. They might understand the New Testament better.

39:57

Anyway. Hey, thanks so much for those questions.

39:59

We're going to come right back with more of your

40:01

calls in just a moment. Uh, that was

40:03

Tricia McMillan. I'm Michael Ray Dolnick.

40:06

We're going to be right back with more

40:08

questions right.

40:08

Here on Open Line.

40:21

Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Mike Redlich,

40:23

and you guys were just listening

40:26

to Tricia McMillan. Uh,

40:28

she was, uh, doing the mailbag. But I have

40:30

a question for Tricia. Tricia, you

40:33

live out. It's sort of on

40:35

the outskirts of Chicago. So

40:37

there's some animals around

40:39

you?

40:40

Yes.

40:40

Do you ever. And I know you have a pet dog,

40:43

right? Two. Yeah. Two. Ever

40:45

get skunked?

40:46

No. Not yet.

40:48

Oh, okay.

40:48

No. When we lived further, further in,

40:50

in a closer suburb, there was a skunk in

40:53

our backyard one day, and we, like, caught

40:55

the dog so that she wouldn't run outside and accidentally

40:57

scare it. And we just watched the skunk

40:59

through our window and tried not to make any loud noises.

41:01

But I've not seen even. I've not

41:04

even seen a skunk. Where we live now,

41:06

further out.

41:07

Well, I'm going to tell you the story of it. Uh,

41:09

the first time I had a dog that got skunked. Yeah.

41:12

Uh, because it makes me think

41:14

of this chosen people offer. Okay,

41:16

okay. Uh, so

41:19

when about 25 years

41:21

ago, I was going to speak at a conference

41:24

for Chosen People Ministries in

41:26

New York City, and we had to catch

41:28

an early flight. And even

41:30

I get up really early. I let the dogs out in the yard,

41:33

and we had two dogs, and we had a collie,

41:35

and she came back in and man, I

41:37

thought, she smells well. She

41:39

found a skunk skunk at about 5

41:42

a.m. in our backyard. She got

41:44

skunked and it was a big mess because we had

41:46

to catch a flight. My 17 year old

41:48

son at the time said, I'll take care of this.

41:50

I'll I'll get her cleaned up. But,

41:52

I mean, she she went in the house, she was

41:54

rolling around on the carpet. She was,

41:56

you know, she went upstairs to our bedroom before we

41:58

got her and she rubbed against our bedspread.

42:01

Uh, it was just a mess. So

42:04

actually, I had to go. Because

42:06

I was going to speak either had to stay

42:08

to take care. And then finally, when she finally

42:11

got things under control, she caught

42:13

a later flight because my son really did take

42:15

charge and take care of it. But,

42:17

uh, and I remember it was about 20 minutes

42:19

before I was on to speak at this conference

42:21

in midtown Manhattan and even rolls

42:23

up in a cab. And she

42:25

didn't miss hearing me speak, which I

42:27

you know, she probably didn't need to hear

42:29

me speak, but nevertheless. But anyway,

42:32

it was the name of that conference in 1999

42:34

was called To the Jew first in the new millennium.

42:38

And it was all these speakers talking about

42:40

this very important principle,

42:43

uh, of to the Jew Jewish

42:45

people especially, which is what the gospel is.

42:47

And it was sponsored by Chosen People Ministries.

42:50

And I was one of the speakers.

42:52

And then they took the messages and we had to

42:54

write them up as chapters. And they made a

42:56

book called To the Jew first

42:58

in the New Millennium. That's 25 years.

43:01

Is this book still relevant? Uh,

43:03

yes. And not because of the dunking of my

43:06

dog, Tricia. But. But

43:09

because those verses really teach

43:11

God's heart for reaching the Jewish people,

43:14

not just Romans 116, but everything that was covered

43:17

in that book. Teach

43:19

God's heart for reaching the Jewish people with the good

43:21

news. And I was so happy

43:24

when I was told that that's

43:26

what this month's special

43:28

offer, a special gift from Chosen

43:30

People Ministries. Uh, this

43:32

book, which is about 24

43:34

years old now, uh, called

43:37

To the Jew first in the new millennium. Well, we're

43:39

we're a quarter of the way through the new millennium.

43:41

But of the century. The century.

43:44

Uh, but nevertheless, I think it's still a really

43:47

worthwhile book. And people can get it for nothing.

43:49

For free. It's it's theirs. It's

43:51

a gift from Chosen People Ministries, and

43:53

it's on our website. Uh, all

43:55

they have to do is scroll down

43:58

to go to Open Line Radio

44:00

org. Scroll down to the bottom. Uh, as

44:02

you come down, you'll see a link that says, uh,

44:04

a free gift from Chosen People Ministries.

44:07

Click on that, put in the information

44:09

and you will get a wonderful book.

44:11

Authors like uh, of chapters

44:13

by Walter Kizer, Darrell Bock,

44:16

uh, Mitch Glazer, and many

44:18

others that it's just a terrific book.

44:20

And, uh, and even

44:22

a chapter written by me, which

44:25

was before I really knew how to write. And so

44:27

it was like a very academic chapter, but

44:29

I think it's still good. Uh, nevertheless,

44:31

it's, uh, it's it's available

44:33

and, uh, I think people would

44:35

really enjoy it. Again, open line radio talks.

44:38

Scroll down. Free gift from Chosen People Ministries.

44:40

Trish is writing this down so that

44:42

she can get a copy, and she'll

44:44

think of my dog being skunked every time, but

44:46

it's a great book. Doesn't smell. So there we go.

44:49

Anyway, uh, it's,

44:51

uh, it's something that I think you would really value

44:53

anyway, I want. I wanted to know if your dog ever

44:55

got skunked, because every time I think of this book and that

44:57

conference, I think of my colleague. Right, Lucy?

45:00

Yeah. Yeah, that's that was

45:02

kind of funny. So anyway, let's, uh, let's

45:04

talk to, uh,

45:06

Stanley in New Liberty,

45:09

Iowa, on Wdvm.

45:11

Yeah. Thank you. Doctor. Um,

45:15

I have a question about, um, the

45:17

the dating of Christ's birth.

45:20

I've been doing a little study, and, you

45:22

know, you can use, uh, well.

45:24

Just you do you want to know what I think about when

45:26

the Lord Jesus was born?

45:29

Yeah. The date. Um, okay,

45:31

I know. Okay. I don't know that you can nail it down.

45:33

Yeah. I think the the

45:36

best thing to understand is

45:38

that Herod the Great died

45:40

in four B.C., so

45:43

sometime in the early part of the year

45:45

of four BC is

45:48

likely when the Lord Jesus was born.

45:51

Uh, and then,

45:53

uh. So

45:55

some people would say as early as seven BC,

45:57

but I think 5 or 4

46:00

BC, uh, would be the date

46:02

of the birth of the Lord Jesus. And

46:04

that when they when they calculated it all.

46:07

Uh, they they got it wrong at first

46:09

and they got it to zero. But, uh, really,

46:12

the four BC is the date, maybe five

46:14

of the birth of Lord Jesus. That's the first

46:16

hour, everyone. Second hour is coming up in just

46:18

a moment. Stick with us. Uh,

46:21

you can check out our webpage during the break,

46:23

which is open line radio talk, all

46:25

sorts of links there that will help you.

46:27

You can see about how to become a kitchen table partner,

46:30

how to get our current resource, uh,

46:32

even how to get the chosen people offer all

46:34

these great things there, plus past programs.

46:36

Uh, I think you'll really enjoy taking a

46:38

look at it. Second hour of Open Line. Coming

46:40

up straight ahead with more of your questions

46:42

about the Bible, God and the spiritual life.

46:45

Open line with Doctor Michael Redlich

46:47

is a production of Moody Radio,

46:49

a ministry of Moody Bible

46:51

Institute.