Download pdf - 2006 Issue 3 - Let's Talk: Talks About the Bible Chapter 5 - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 2006 Issue 3 - Let's Talk: Talks About the Bible Chapter 5 - Counsel of Chalcedon

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I was once looking for a house to buy, so I went to the many real estate agents who wantedto sell me a house. I looked in the real estate borchures, and saw pictures telling me about

the houses for sale. Some of the books had beautiful photographs of thehouses, together with most attractive descriptions of the oak-paneled hal

and staircase, the large sitting-rooms, the bright bedrooms, the garage atthe side, and the swimming pool and tennis court at the back. You can besure that the houses with the lovely descriptions were the ones that caughtmy eye, but I can see a knowing look on your faces that tells me that youcan guess what is coming next. Yes! The price was too high.

On the bulletin boards outside the agents office I could see there weresome other houses being put up for auction. That is like Ebay where

people offer to pay a certain price for something and the one who bids or offers the highestprice gets it that is a rather exciting way of buying and selling things. The bulletin boardsshowed what these houses were. I saw one that was announced, and along the top it read:

THIS DESIRABLE RESIDENCE

Naturally, I read all about This Desirable Residence. I then looked at the next poster andsaw that it, too, began the same way, This Desirable Residence ... In fact the advertisementof the sale of every house began with the words, This Desirable Residence. I wonder if theyreally were all so desirable. I once passed a large, broken down mansion. It was empty, thewindows were broken, the creeper vines had grown all over it, and it was for sale. The agent ssign nailed to a tree boldly said again, This Desirable House! Well, obviously, every house isnot really desirable. Thats just sales talk.

When God chose Abraham and his seed, Isaac, Jacob, the ancient Israelites, He called themto come with Him to live in a lovely country, a place which was to be their home. It was thePromised Land and a truly desirable residence it was. Just listen to the way Moses writesabout it in Deuteronomy, chapter 11, verses 10 to 12.For this land, whither ye go to possessit, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a land whichthe Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from thebeginning of the year even unto the end of the year. It was a beautiful country indeed.

I want to talk to you about this desirable residence today, because the Bible has a lot to say

LETS TALK:

Talks About The Bible

Chapter 5 - THIS DESIRABLE RESIDENCEBased on Ernest F. Kevins Book by the same title

[out of print]

(Adapted and Edited by Wayne Rogers)


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about it and all that happened in it. It is the land of Palestine or Israel.

The land of Palestine is about one-third the size of the State of Illinois. I doubt if many ofyou have been to Wales in the United Kingdom, but, if you have, you will know something aboutits size, and its mountains and streams. Palestine is about as large as Wales, and has mountains

just about the same height as the Welsh mountains. If you have access to a computer and theinternet you might look up Wales. Palestine also has a lovely sea-shore all the way along itswestern border; but on the other side, in the east, there is a great sandy desert.

If you are good at miles and maps you may like to know that Palestine is about 150 miles longfrom north to south, and it goes from being 60 miles wide in the south until it narrows down inthe north to only about 20 miles across. On average it is about 45 miles wide. Ask your parentsto name places about 45 miles and 150 miles from where you live. You will see that it is not verybig.

Let me try to describe this desirable residence to you. We will imagine ourselves walkingaround it away back in the times when the Israelites lived in it long ago. If it were a house, wewould go over it one floor at a time, exploring all the rooms and cupboards on each floor beforegoing upstairs to the next. We are not able to do that in quite the same way with Palestine, so

we will picture it as divided into four strips running from the north to the south.

Open your Bible to a map of Israel in the back. Let us begin at the seasideHere on the westside is a lovely strip of pretty country. It starts where agreat mountain comes jutting out towards the sea. It is called the CoastaPlain. All the way down the coast, the land is flat and full of flowers andtrees, until right at the southern end there are large fields of golden cornIt is in this flat plain that we shall find the lovely Rose of Sharon. Look upSong of Solomon 2:1 and Isa. 35:1. And just look at these fine trees andwoods! This is a grand place to live in. There is only one place on the shorewhere the boats can come in and out, and this place is Joppa. You will rememberthat Jonah went down to Joppa to catch a ship in order to flee from the

Lord, Jonah 1:3. Simon Peter also stayed at Joppa once, and he lived in a house almost on thebeach.

It is time we moved into the next strip. Strangely enough, it is a bit like going upstairs, becausethe roads are so steep and difficult to climb. We are clambering up mountains (the foothills)Running straight through the middle of the country there is a chain of mountains (The HillCountry). In the north they are called the Mountains of Galilee, in the middle they are calledthe Mountains of Samaria, and in the south, the Mountains of Judah. It is quite fresh and chillyon the top of these mountains, but very warm in the deep valleys between them. It is up in these

mountains that we shall find some of the most important placesof Israel. Chief of all, of course, is the City of Jerusalem. TheBible always speaks about going up to Jerusalem, and this isquite true, for the city is built 2,500 feet above the level of thesea. Other important places among these mountains are Samaria,Shechem, Hebron, and Bethlehem. On some of the mountain sideswe find fortresses: these were built in the days of the borderwarfare between the Northern and Southern kings, after thenation had divided into two. Grim and sad they look. But, up here

Lets Talk


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towards the north, what is this lovely open space breaking the lineof the mountains and looking like green playing fields? This is thePlain of Jezreel. Some of Palestines biggest battles were foughthere, and two of Israels kings were killed. It was just here, toothat the trading caravans, with the tinkling bells of their camelsused to cross the mountain range on their way from the countries

of the East to go down to sell their things in Egypt. Will you try toremember the position of this broad valley?

If we now move more towards the East, we come into the deep valley of the River Jordan (TheJordan Valley). This river starts high up in Mount Hermon, and descends steeply in its courseof 104 miles, passing through two lakes the Waters of Merom (a lake in Northern Palestinethrough which the Jordan flows. It was the scene of the third andlast great victory gained by Joshua over the Canaanites, Josh. 11:5-7) and the Sea of Galilee until it comes into the Dead Sea 1,290feet below sea level, the level of the ocean. The country around theDead Sea is wild and lonely, and a little distance from its northern

shore is the place where Sodom and Gomorrah used to be. When thesnow melts on Mount Hermon the river becomes a rushing torrent,and it floods over its banks. Think of what Jesus said in Mat. 7:24-27. This drives the lions and other wild animals out of their riversidehiding-places, to seek their prey among the flocks that belong to thepeople in the near-by villages.

Suppose we now cross the river and go to the eastern side. There are not any bridges and sowe cross at one of the fords. No, I am not talking about a Ford car! A ford is a place wherethe river is so shallow that you can walk through it. We are at once starting to climb, and findourselves in bold rugged moorland and among large oak forests. This country east of Jordan iscalled Bashan and Gilead. Two and a half tribes of Israelites decided to stay in this part of thecountry when the people all moved in, and they used to keep large herds of cattle. The big bullsof Bashan were famous. Elijah, that brave prophet of God, came from a little town in Gilead.

Im sorry that this brings our walk around the land of Israel to an end, but before we finish Imust tell you that the country produced plenty of luscious grapes, big juicy oranges, delicioushoney, and all the loveliest things. Such was Israels home This Desirable Residence.

The Israelites ought to have been ever so happy; but they were not. It takesmore than lovely surroundings to make people happy.

What else do you think it needs?

Ernest Kevin