Insights from Bible Geography
Table of Contents
Cities of Refuge
The Concise Bible Dictionary talks about the cities of refuge, "It has been calculated that the distance of these from city to city would be about 70 miles, so that no one would in any part be farther than about 35 miles from one of them." How tender and gracious of our God to make a nearby refuge! He threw open the gates for His people Israel when He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Peter held the gate open in the early part of the Acts. “And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17).
Daniel’s Business Trip
“In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai” (Daniel 8:1-2).
Daniel was far from the great capital in these verses (he was back before it fell). He's at a palace so it would appear he's on a "business trip" for his boss, king Belshazzar. Yet he's in communion not out on the town seeing the sights of the palace. He wasn’t “too busy” with his job to find time for communion with the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” No matter how busy or demanding our responsibilities are, there will always be time for communion with the Lord.
Energy for the Dead
Take a moment and find a place that’s almost 11 miles (18km) away from where you are right now. Go ahead I’ll wait. Got it? Now imagine for a moment walking that distance, right now, to tell a friend to come back with you to see a dead person. Once you arrive you don’t just sit down and talk. You turn right around and come back with your friend that same 11 miles to your starting point. That’s what the two men in Acts 9:36-41 did with their friend Peter to see their other, now dead, friend Dorcas. You know how the story ended—Peter raised Dorcas from the dead in the power of the Spirit of God.
Has the Lord sent you on an errand today? Is it a physically tiring one with little natural prospect of success? We can do everything we’re given to do for Him with energy from Him. The end of our journey won’t likely be to see someone raised from the dead. But we might see someone raised from spiritual lethargy, encouraged in the Lord or kept from heading toward eternal spiritual death. Look back at the story in Acts. It says that Lydda, where Peter was staying, was “nigh” to Joppa. Maybe your difficult errand today isn’t such a “big deal” after all.
Fair Winds or Foul?
Following Clear Direction from the Lord (Acts 16:9-10).
“Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis” (Acts 16:11).
Driven by a deep love for the Jews Paul heads for Jerusalem, but without direct instruction from the Lord.
“And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.” (Acts 20:6).
Troas to Neapolis takes 2 days in the will of God. Neapolis to Troas took 5 days sailing against the will of God. Sure, there may have been prevailing winds, currents or pirates to dodge—but that doesn’t seem to be the real story here. Paul faced the peril of robber, shipwreck and beating when he was serving the Lord. Difficult circumstances may just be a call to dependence and persistence in the will of the Lord. But sometimes difficult circumstances may be a wakeup call. Sometimes it’s the Spirit’s gentle breathing of the instruction to stop and ask for the Lord’s mind—we’ve lost our way and need directions.
Gates of Jerusalem: Time of Nehemiah
Based on Chapter-a-Day Volume 3 by Norman Berry.
Sheep gate: Lost sheep found and brought in.
Fish gate: Saved sheep become fishers of men.
Old gate: The truth of God never goes out of date.
Dung gate: Paul said “I count all things but loss...and do count them but dung that I may win Christ.”
See more complete thoughts here:
http://bibletruthpublishers.com/la138674
God’s Grace
“Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6).
“And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us” (Acts 16:14-15).
God had great fruit ready in the Roman province of Asia (in modern Turkey) but it wasn't ripe yet. Paul had to pick the crop in Macedonia first. But the Lord had a plum for him (Lydia) waiting to be harvested in Europe that was a gracious answer to his desire to share the word in Asia. (Thyatira is in Asia).
The Humble Man
One day in Nazareth an angry mob surged out of the synagogue and expelled Jesus from the city. They had every intention of throwing Him off the top of the hill where He had spent His childhood. Quietly, graciously He walked away (Luke 4:29-30).
Stand on that hill and look out across the fertile Jezreel valley a mere 10 miles (16km) to the town of Megiddo. You can try out the approximate view here. Copy and paste this into your browser ... https://www.google.com/maps/@32.67264,35.272297,3a,75y,129.03h,92.45t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1SpxI5IC5nxACSZR-eWkNpQQ!2e0!6m1!1e1
Did you know that you were just looking out over the great battlefield of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16)? The Lord Jesus did. But standing in time between the brow of the hill with its angry mob and the greatest battlefield that will ever be, stood the cross, the forming of His bride and the moral shaping of His earthly people. And so, in the perfect will of God, He meekly walked away. Even today, He still waits to take His place as King of kings and Lord of lords and to reign in righteousness.
Do you face an angry mob loaded with injustice and hate, gunning for your reputation? What purposes of blessing lie between now and the moment when the Lord will set the record straight?
Jonah to Ninevah
Jonah had plenty of time to get second thoughts. After being vomited onto the land, he was still over 400 miles (644km) from Ninevah (modern day Mosul, Iraq). Whether he walked or rode a camel doesn’t really matter—it still took him quite a while to get there. That was plenty of time to think and ponder over what the Lord was showing him. But the message hadn’t fully sunk in. He ends the book pouting under the gourd. Sometimes our lessons, even the dramatic ones, don’t penetrate our thick skulls very quickly. How thankful we can be that our God is a patient and gracious teacher! Who was in the grip of the Spirit of God and then a dependent recorder of all of Jonah’s failure? Jonah of course. He had learned his lessons of humility at last. Our patient teacher will take us all the way through to graduation day!
Met by Grace and Truth
Perhaps in your thoughts you’ve sat just off to the side of Sychar’s well and listened thoughtfully to the conversation of Jesus Christ with that woman of Samaria. Did you look up with her to “this mountain” where the Samaritan temple had stood until destroyed by the Jews a little over 100 years before? Yes, it sat on Mt. Gerizim, the mount of blessing that stood just over 1 mi (1.6km) geographically from where they sat. But the deep ravine of her sin and a broken law ran in between and cut her off from all its promises. Her way was open to Mt. Ebal, the mount of cursing lay about 1.5 mi (2.4km) behind her. As they conversed its shadow would be creeping backward toward her home in Sychar.
Her need was no matter for religion to solve. No standard Samaritan versus Jew debate would get her anywhere. No glances toward the housetops of Shechem, Abraham’s first stopping place in Canaan, or down into the reflection off the waters in Jacob’s well could bring her blessing. She sat in the presence of the living Son of God who embodied grace and truth. History, tradition, religion, personal merit were all shuttled into the shadows of a light brighter than the noonday sun. Have you sat and listened to Him today?
Paul Pauses
Perhaps Paul had some inkling of the storm that lay ahead of him in Jerusalem. Whatever the case, Paul cuts across the peninsula while Luke and the rest sail around the tip. Acts 20:14 reads as though Paul arrived after the rest. Acts 20:4 gives quite a list of traveling companions that must have accompanied Luke. Paul takes a break from the group to walk and be alone—no doubt alone with the Lord. We need to make that same commitment to find time away from the multitude in order to spend time with our Savior. Here’s what the Lord Jesus did, “When He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone” (Matthew 14:23).
Paul’s Honor
Roman legionaries tramped into their rest spot many miles outside Rome having already marched nearly 100 miles (160km) from Puteoli. The squalid town of Appii Forum thrived on traffic heading to and from the most powerful city on earth. High priced taverns, rioting riff-raff, and a military escort on the way to a trial before a capricious pagan dictator are hardly the attractions advertised in brochures for restful Christian bed and breakfasts. It was here that the Apostle Paul “thanked God and took courage” (Acts 28:15).
Why? There may be many reasons but here’s one. Hidden among the hardships were the tokens of God’s love and care for him. Roman custom dictated that important people were met outside the walls of town by friends and escorted inside. The more important the visitor, the further out the escort came. Paul was being met 51 miles (82Km) outside town—a very unusual distance. And the party swelled even more 33 miles (53km) from Rome in the unsavory sounding town of the three taverns. Paul’s desire had long been to love and serve his brethren. Now they were showing love and honor for him being unashamed to be associated with “the prisoner of the Lord.” With the keen eye of faith Paul saw past the squalor to the God he loved and served. He was receiving the welcome of an emperor from the one who loved him. Happiness doesn’t come from a freshly decorated villa but from eyes tuned to see the king in all His beauty.
Pool of Siloam
The man whose eyes were healed could have said. Why not the Pool of Struthius by the Sheep Gate? (some maps indicated it might be a different gate like the prison gate.) That way I don't have to go nearly as far, go down and then have to climb all the way back up. It would be way more efficient! To get there he had to go out the Water Gate. There is no bypassing God’s Word. As sinners we also need to be brought down in our own thoughts of ourselves as part of God’s work in us.
Real Ancient Wonder
Acts 19
The Temple of Diana was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. A monstrous and beautiful building it stretched out longer than and wider than a soccer field (football in most of the world) and towered over the ancient city of Ephesus. Pilgrims poured in from around the Roman world bringing a huge income to local merchants and spurring on the trade in the religious souvenirs that Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen made, sold and got rich.
“And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10). But word of the Lord brought truth to pagan Ephesus. The real living wonder of the Word lives today. The Temple of Diana collapsed many centuries ago.
Saul Goes Behind Enemy Lines
Endor, the place where the witch lived (1 Samuel 28:7), lay behind enemy lines. Saul, a man of true natural courage, skirts the enemy camp to seek wisdom from a witch. The next day, not running from the fight, he dies in battle—though he died in self-will by falling on his own sword. But Saul with his impressive height and impressive courage was never a match for the enemies of God’s people in his own strength. He ends his career visiting a witch, falling on his own sword and having his body, together with the bodies of his sons, hanging on the Philistine city wall.
His successor, David, had the right perspective, “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). David peacefully passes on his kingdom to his son and, “So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David” (1 Kings 2:10). Natural courage isn’t enough, we need the “name of the Lord.”
Trapped in the Valley of the Giants
David’s predecessor had been hung on the wall of the Philistine city of Beth-shean. Now word came that their army was gathered in the “Valley of the Giants”—just outside his freshly founded capital of Jerusalem. And when I say “just outside” I mean the 4 or 5-mile-long valley that ends at Jerusalem’s gates.
Have you ever felt under pressure to act and act now? David’s house, family, career and life were threatened. Where we might flail or flee, David bowed the knee. David quietly asks the Lord if He would give him the victory. With God’s blessing, David fought and won.
But enemies of God’s people don’t give up easily. So, when the battle threatened again, the solution was obvious wasn’t it? Not the tactics of attack of course, prayer was still the solution and God’s timing was everything. Now patience was required. David had to wait for the sound of the marching in the mulberries. Imagine sitting while the enemy is free to march on your home! David’s predecessor couldn’t sit and wait for the prophet Samuel when the Philistines were gathering.
When sitting seems silly and the giants are marching to your door, remember that David waited for God’s special signal and Saul “forced” himself.
Valley Gate of Jerusalem
The valley gate (a figure of humility) was right next to Herod's Palace. Think of the humble man, the Lord Jesus, standing there silently facing the proud Herod. Who valued the meaning of that gate? Notice that Herod is only mentioned in Luke's gospel, the gospel of the Son of Man. In Nehemiah’s day, Hanun repaired a broken-down wall there. Interestingly Scripture records the length of the wall that Hanun repaired—the only stretch of wall the Spirit of God measures. When we aren’t busy measuring ourselves and how we stack up to others, the Lord takes care of that for us.
Who Gets the Credit for This Victory?
You’ve probably seen the gorgeous mosaic from Pompeii. Focused, tanned, bold Alexander the Great zeroes in on a terrified Darius II of Persia. Darius seems to be urging his charioteer to cut and run from the Issus battlefield. The heroic and inspirational message is clear. Dedication, courage, focus and energy are the key to victory.
Are they? With no disrespect to that list of virtues you might try reading Daniel 8:5-8 for the true key to victory. Glance up at the map above and notice that Greece lies to the west of Persia. The Greek he goat, furious with the Persian ram for its invasion of Greece, charged down on the enemy. Alexander the Great, the notable horn, led the charge. The ram was seen standing beside a river. Look back up at the map of the battle that opened up the land of Israel to the invading Greek, the battle that led to the New Testament being written with the incredibly precise Greek language, isn’t that a river the Persian is standing beside? Daniel 8:5-8 is history now. It was a prophecy when written over 200 years before the events it describes. At that time Greece was a rabble of independent city states and Belshazzar sat on the Babylonian throne surrounded by 70-foot walls that towered up to 300 feet above the plains around.
So, when the Lord works in us the courage, focus and energy necessary for a spiritual victory, who will get the credit—the servant or his Lord?