LETS TALK Talks About the Bible

Adadpted from Ernest Kevin

CHAPTER 7 - THE BIG WIDE WORLD
Are you good at Geography? I remember trying to learn the names of countries, oceans, rivers,
mountains when I was a boy; but I imagine your teachers make it much more interesting for you in
these days. I used to wish I had one of those big globes of the world, because then it was easier
to see that Australia and New Zealand were on the other side of the world.
The world that we know today, thanks to people like Christopher Columbus, is a much larger
place than the world that was known in the times of the Bible, but I want to talk to you about
the big wide world in which the people of Bible days lived. The Bible refers to places as far
away as India (Esther 1:1) and Spain (Romans 15:24). There are some who think that there is
a reference to China in the Old Testament, but we are not quite sure about that. Its just
possible that some of the people of the Bible times went as far as England.
But to a boy in Palestine, in Old Testament times, places such as India, Spain, China and England
did not mean much. They must have seemed as far away as the moon.
Lets have a look at a map. I love maps, and I like to make
imaginary journeys on the map from place to place. Can you
see Egypt down in the left-hand bottom corner? Then on the
right of it, and a little higher up, (north-coast) is Palestine.
If you keep on going up the map you come to Syria, and then
higher still, and right at the top of the map, you will see the
northern tip of Assyria. Now you start coming down the map
again. As you come down to the bottom right-hand cornet
with your finger you pass between two rivers. This is Assyria,
and it is sometimes called Mesopotamia, be cause Mesopotamia
means between the rivers. Let your finger keep going slowly
down to the corner, and you travel through the country of
Babylonia and at last reach the seaside at the Persian Gulf.
Look, now, at the imaginary line you have drawn with your
finger. It goes up from Egypt in the left-hand corner, to the
top of the map, and then down to Babylonia in the right-hand
corner. That imaginary line is a big letter V turned upside down. This is worth remembering,
because it was along this V-shaped line that all the people lived, and it was along this route
that the mer chants used to travel and the armies used to march. In the middle of this big
upside-down V is a wide desert. Only tent-dwellers lived there, and very seldom did travelers
cross it. They always went up to the North and then down the other side.
I wonder whether you can see what this map of the big outside world means so far as the
people in Palestine were concerned? Egypt and Babylonia were strong and rich countries, and
they had a lot to do with each other; but anybody who wanted to go from Egypt to Babylonia, or
from Babylonia to Egypt, had to pass through the tiny land of Palestine. All the busy merchants
brought their goods into Palestine, and the Israelites were able to see them and buy them.
Some times the armies of these big countries overran Pales tine, and then the people became
subject, either to the Egyptians, or to the Babylonians who had conquered them. Another evil
thing was that these heathen powers, especially Babylonia, brought their idolatrous practices
with them and constantly tempted the Israelites away from God.
Let me tell you a little about Babylonia and Egypt. Babylonia was the country from which Abram
came. His city was called Ur (pronounced oor), and it was from this wonderful city, with its
temples and libraries and other beautiful buildings, that Abram set out when God called him
to go to a new land. The people in Babylonia had very wise laws, and we can see what some of
these laws were like, when we study Abrams life. But although the Babylonians were skilful to
make fine things, and although they were wise enough to make good laws, they did not know the
the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON 29
living God. That is an important thing to realize. Just because people are talented, intelligent,
and live good lives doesnt mean they know God. Some nations do have good laws, laws against
murder and stealing, etc. But when a nation thinks it can make its own laws apart from Gods law
then they can also make bad laws such as abortion and allowing men to marry men and women
to marry women. The only way for a nation to really have good laws is to base their laws on the
good, perfect, wise, and holy law of God. The law of the Lord is perfect, Psalm 19:7.
It seems strange to us today to think of, but these Baby lonian people worshipped the Sun,
the Moon, and all the Stars. Abrams city, Ur, was the special city where a great temple had
been built for the worship of the Moon. It seems likely that Abrams father might have been
a moon-worshiper; but what a good day it was when the living God spoke to Abram and called
him away.
I must not forget to tell you something about the Egyptians. As the Babylonians, they too,
were ex tremely clever people and were able to make things in metal and stone that even our
skillful scientists today cannot make. They built some of the most marvelous buildings in the
worlds history. They were also very religious people indeed, but they, too, worshiped the Sun
and ever so many other imaginary gods as well. They had a strong army, with chariots and
horses, and for a long time they were the rulers over Palestine.
The boys who went to school at the same time as Jesus had lessons from their masters about
other great countries. Great changes had happened since the time of Abram and David and
people like Isaiah, and the world was a very different place. The people of Palestine no longer
lived in fear of being invaded by the Babylonians or the Egyptians, because those em pires had
crumbled away. When Jesus was learning geography the world was ruled by the Romans, and the
schoolmaster would have told the
class about the great city of Rome
across the blue Mediterranean
Sea. Roman soldiers had forts in
Palestine, and all the people had
to pay their taxes to the Romans
in Roman money. Yes! Things were
greatly changed. Ships would
come and go from Palestine,
bringing the Roman soldiers,
and on some of these ships Paul
and his friends sailed away when
they went into all the world to
preach the Gospel. Paul and
other Christians travelled as far
as Rome itself, and told the good
news of the Lord Jesus Christ
in this great capital city, where
the emperor had his palace. I
would love to tell you about great
cities like Antioch, and Ephesus,
and Athens, and perhaps I will
another day. There were fine
straight white roads stretching
out over the mountains and down
into the valleys connecting all
these big cities of the world
to the great capital at Rome.
It is not surprising that one of
Pauls greatest ambitions was
to preach the Gospel at Rome. I
wish I could whisk you away with
me, and we would go together to
see all these wonderful places.
Perhaps you will be able to visit
some of these places some day.
the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON 30
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