ARCHAEOLOGY SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON ISRAEL'S HIGH PLACES
II Chronicles 11:15
"And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made."
The Old Testament frequently and disapprovingly mentions the fact that the Israelites often built "high places." The Bible indicates that high places were worship centers where a pagan religion or a mix of Israelite and Canaanite religion was practiced.
Until recently, high places found by archaeologists revealed little about these sites of false worship. However, the discovery of a high place at Rehov tells a much more complete story � one consistent with what the Bible tells us. Its dating could make this high place one of those for which Rehoboam, son of Solomon, appointed priests. The sanctuary was a raised ten-foot square of mud brick. In the middle was a stone platform that was three feet square. One side of the platform had four large stones, two of them taller than the others. These may have been the "standing stones" mentioned in the Bible. In front of the platform was an offering table. Many of the bones of offered animals, often wild goats, were found at the site. Such offerings would have been against God's law. In addition, various figurines were found at the site. These included a bull, two female figures and another animal. Israel was forbidden to make such images.
This discovery challenges the skeptics and upholds the integrity of biblical history. Once again, the Bible's history has proven to be factual, even when reporting Israel's sins.
Lord, preserve me from being misled in any way from Your truth. Amen.
Biblical Archaeology Review, 3 4/00, pp. 38 51, 75, "Will Tel Rehov Save the United Monarchy?" Painting: Rehoboam depicted on a fragment of the wall painting originally in the Great Council Chamber of Basel Town Hall. Painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1529. (PD)
II Chronicles 11:15
"And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made."
The Old Testament frequently and disapprovingly mentions the fact that the Israelites often built "high places." The Bible indicates that high places were worship centers where a pagan religion or a mix of Israelite and Canaanite religion was practiced.
Until recently, high places found by archaeologists revealed little about these sites of false worship. However, the discovery of a high place at Rehov tells a much more complete story � one consistent with what the Bible tells us. Its dating could make this high place one of those for which Rehoboam, son of Solomon, appointed priests. The sanctuary was a raised ten-foot square of mud brick. In the middle was a stone platform that was three feet square. One side of the platform had four large stones, two of them taller than the others. These may have been the "standing stones" mentioned in the Bible. In front of the platform was an offering table. Many of the bones of offered animals, often wild goats, were found at the site. Such offerings would have been against God's law. In addition, various figurines were found at the site. These included a bull, two female figures and another animal. Israel was forbidden to make such images.
This discovery challenges the skeptics and upholds the integrity of biblical history. Once again, the Bible's history has proven to be factual, even when reporting Israel's sins.
Lord, preserve me from being misled in any way from Your truth. Amen.
Biblical Archaeology Review, 3 4/00, pp. 38 51, 75, "Will Tel Rehov Save the United Monarchy?" Painting: Rehoboam depicted on a fragment of the wall painting originally in the Great Council Chamber of Basel Town Hall. Painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1529. (PD)
SOLAR SYSTEM STRUCTURE CONFOUNDS SCIENTISTS
Psalm 147:4
"He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names."
Our solar system has a nice, neat structure. The planets all have nice, stable, relatively round orbits. This structure protects the Earth from being struck by another large planet. Evolutionary theories about the origin of the solar system have always said that it formed into its current neat structure from a swirling disk of hot gases that once orbited the sun.
Now, with the discovery of planets orbiting other stars, astronomers are rethinking their theories about how the solar system formed. The problem is that none of the other planetary systems have an orderly structure, and all the planets so far discovered are closer to their stars than we are to the sun. The coolest among them has a surface temperature of 180� F. Most of these planets have orbits so erratic that collisions with other planets are always a threat. So, astronomers wonder, how did our solar system become so well ordered for life? They argue that the large icy planets, Uranus and Neptune, are too large to have formed at the edge of the solar system. So it is concluded that they must have formed closer to the sun, meaning that the solar system was once as chaotic as the recently discovered planetary systems.
However, this new evolutionary approach simply introduces another problem: How could our present orderly solar system have developed out of the chaos of a system in which planets are crashing around like billiard balls? The Bible still offers the best answer. The solar system was designed and created for us by a wise and loving God.
I rejoice, dear Father, because the power You bring to me is Your love. Amen.
Discover, 3/00, p. 54, "Solar Revisionism." Illustration: The planets of our solar system (distances not to scale). Courtesy of Kwamikagami. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Psalm 147:4
"He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names."
Our solar system has a nice, neat structure. The planets all have nice, stable, relatively round orbits. This structure protects the Earth from being struck by another large planet. Evolutionary theories about the origin of the solar system have always said that it formed into its current neat structure from a swirling disk of hot gases that once orbited the sun.
Now, with the discovery of planets orbiting other stars, astronomers are rethinking their theories about how the solar system formed. The problem is that none of the other planetary systems have an orderly structure, and all the planets so far discovered are closer to their stars than we are to the sun. The coolest among them has a surface temperature of 180� F. Most of these planets have orbits so erratic that collisions with other planets are always a threat. So, astronomers wonder, how did our solar system become so well ordered for life? They argue that the large icy planets, Uranus and Neptune, are too large to have formed at the edge of the solar system. So it is concluded that they must have formed closer to the sun, meaning that the solar system was once as chaotic as the recently discovered planetary systems.
However, this new evolutionary approach simply introduces another problem: How could our present orderly solar system have developed out of the chaos of a system in which planets are crashing around like billiard balls? The Bible still offers the best answer. The solar system was designed and created for us by a wise and loving God.
I rejoice, dear Father, because the power You bring to me is Your love. Amen.
Discover, 3/00, p. 54, "Solar Revisionism." Illustration: The planets of our solar system (distances not to scale). Courtesy of Kwamikagami. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
EATING THAT CAN RESULT IN STARVATION
Psalm 102:5-6
"By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert."
The creosote shrub is common in the desert of the American Southwest and northern Mexico. This remarkable plant is not only well designed for life in the desert, but also it protects itself from those who would munch on its leaves.
Creosote bushes grow in stands because they reproduce by sending shoots out from a collective root system. One stand measured over 60 feet across at its widest point! Stands can be hundreds of years old. The bushes produce several hundred chemicals that evaporate into the air. Stands are said to smell like chemistry laboratories. Other desert plants avoid growing near them, probably because of the smell. As a result, stands do not have to share scarce water supplies with other plants. Compounds called phenols and phenoloxidasa are among the chemicals produced by the leaves. These chemicals must be stored in different compartments within the leaves so that they do not react with each other. However, when the leaves are chewed, these compartments break down. They react in the stomach, producing chemicals called quinones. The quinones then react with the plant proteins, changing them into a form that cannot be digested. The result is that whatever tries to eat creosote leaves can have a full stomach and be starving at the same time!
The creosote's advanced chemical warfare could not possibly be a product of mindless evolution. Its methods of protection reveal a well thought out design that can only be credited to a wise Creator.
Dear Father, in Christ I flee to You from the desert of my guilt. Amen.
Bombardier Beetles and Fever Trees, pp. 25-27. Photo: Creosote bush, Death Valley National Park, California. Courtesy of Eric in SF. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Psalm 102:5-6
"By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert."
The creosote shrub is common in the desert of the American Southwest and northern Mexico. This remarkable plant is not only well designed for life in the desert, but also it protects itself from those who would munch on its leaves.
Creosote bushes grow in stands because they reproduce by sending shoots out from a collective root system. One stand measured over 60 feet across at its widest point! Stands can be hundreds of years old. The bushes produce several hundred chemicals that evaporate into the air. Stands are said to smell like chemistry laboratories. Other desert plants avoid growing near them, probably because of the smell. As a result, stands do not have to share scarce water supplies with other plants. Compounds called phenols and phenoloxidasa are among the chemicals produced by the leaves. These chemicals must be stored in different compartments within the leaves so that they do not react with each other. However, when the leaves are chewed, these compartments break down. They react in the stomach, producing chemicals called quinones. The quinones then react with the plant proteins, changing them into a form that cannot be digested. The result is that whatever tries to eat creosote leaves can have a full stomach and be starving at the same time!
The creosote's advanced chemical warfare could not possibly be a product of mindless evolution. Its methods of protection reveal a well thought out design that can only be credited to a wise Creator.
Dear Father, in Christ I flee to You from the desert of my guilt. Amen.
Bombardier Beetles and Fever Trees, pp. 25-27. Photo: Creosote bush, Death Valley National Park, California. Courtesy of Eric in SF. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
NEW ANTIBIOTIC DISCOVERED UNDER THE AFRICAN JUNGLE
Matthew 8:3
"And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
Researchers searching for new medicines have been scouring the jungles of the world. Many of our new and most powerful drugs have come from Old and New World jungles. Sometimes researchers learn something about these medicines from local healers, who already seem to know how to use them.
One of the most recent discoveries took place in the jungles of the African continent. Researchers from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland found out that traditional medicine practitioners used a yellow substance to treat syphilis and leprosy and to kill termites. They learned that the substance comes from the root of a tree that is common across Africa's jungles. The researchers collected some samples to see if the yellow substance might actually have compounds medicine could use. They found a compound that kills microbes and fungi. The scientists concluded that the compound is manufactured by the tree to protect its roots from dangerous fungi in the soil. However, they are going to have to learn to make the compound in the laboratory. Researchers say that six trees would have to be killed to harvest just 50 grams of the new antibiotic.
Our merciful God knew that we would fall into sin and become subject to illness. So when He made the creation, He gave us many plants that can provide medical help if we explore that creation as He commanded. However, these medicines don't treat the underlying cause of our problems � sin. So He sent His Son to save us from the guilt of our sin.
Lord, I thank You for earning forgiveness and salvation for me. Amen.
Science News, 3/4/00, p.159, "Rooting for new antimicrobial drugs." Photo: Bobgunnia madagascariensis, the tree that produces the yellow substance that kills microbes and fungi. Courtesy of J.H.Kirkbr. and Wiersema. http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=14&id=207
Matthew 8:3
"And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
Researchers searching for new medicines have been scouring the jungles of the world. Many of our new and most powerful drugs have come from Old and New World jungles. Sometimes researchers learn something about these medicines from local healers, who already seem to know how to use them.
One of the most recent discoveries took place in the jungles of the African continent. Researchers from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland found out that traditional medicine practitioners used a yellow substance to treat syphilis and leprosy and to kill termites. They learned that the substance comes from the root of a tree that is common across Africa's jungles. The researchers collected some samples to see if the yellow substance might actually have compounds medicine could use. They found a compound that kills microbes and fungi. The scientists concluded that the compound is manufactured by the tree to protect its roots from dangerous fungi in the soil. However, they are going to have to learn to make the compound in the laboratory. Researchers say that six trees would have to be killed to harvest just 50 grams of the new antibiotic.
Our merciful God knew that we would fall into sin and become subject to illness. So when He made the creation, He gave us many plants that can provide medical help if we explore that creation as He commanded. However, these medicines don't treat the underlying cause of our problems � sin. So He sent His Son to save us from the guilt of our sin.
Lord, I thank You for earning forgiveness and salvation for me. Amen.
Science News, 3/4/00, p.159, "Rooting for new antimicrobial drugs." Photo: Bobgunnia madagascariensis, the tree that produces the yellow substance that kills microbes and fungi. Courtesy of J.H.Kirkbr. and Wiersema. http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=14&id=207
WHAT'S PART MAMMAL, MARSUPIAL AND REPTILE?
Psalm 111:4
"He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion."
While all living things defy evolution, some do it more clearly than others. The echidna is one example of a creature that obviously challenges evolution. This Australian marvel is often called the spiny anteater. However, it has little resemblance to anteaters in other parts of the world.
Echidnas are classified as monotremes, which are egg-laying mammals. While the adults have no teeth, a hatchling echidna escapes from its egg with an egg tooth. Adults have a long snout and an even longer sticky tongue that catches ants. The hatchling is protected and nursed in a marsupial-like pouch. As it grows it develops the long spines of an adult. If the echidna sounds like a strange creature, its mating habits are even stranger. At mating time echidnas form "trains." A large female leads the train, followed by up to seven males, the smallest being the last car of the train. They walk single file until the female finds a tree she likes. Then the males dig a trench around the tree and seek to drive each other out of the trench. Only the victorious male is allowed to mate with the female.
With its mammalian, reptilian and marsupial features, the echidna challenges evolution. Evolutionists would have a hard time explaining what forces would produce a creature that is apparently related to no other. The best explanation for the echidna is that it is the work of an infinitely creative and powerful Creator.
Dear Father, Your unlimited creativity fills me with joy. Amen.
Science Frontiers, p. 129, "Echidna Eccentricities." Photo: Western long-beaked echidna. Courtesy of Matma Rex. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Psalm 111:4
"He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion."
While all living things defy evolution, some do it more clearly than others. The echidna is one example of a creature that obviously challenges evolution. This Australian marvel is often called the spiny anteater. However, it has little resemblance to anteaters in other parts of the world.
Echidnas are classified as monotremes, which are egg-laying mammals. While the adults have no teeth, a hatchling echidna escapes from its egg with an egg tooth. Adults have a long snout and an even longer sticky tongue that catches ants. The hatchling is protected and nursed in a marsupial-like pouch. As it grows it develops the long spines of an adult. If the echidna sounds like a strange creature, its mating habits are even stranger. At mating time echidnas form "trains." A large female leads the train, followed by up to seven males, the smallest being the last car of the train. They walk single file until the female finds a tree she likes. Then the males dig a trench around the tree and seek to drive each other out of the trench. Only the victorious male is allowed to mate with the female.
With its mammalian, reptilian and marsupial features, the echidna challenges evolution. Evolutionists would have a hard time explaining what forces would produce a creature that is apparently related to no other. The best explanation for the echidna is that it is the work of an infinitely creative and powerful Creator.
Dear Father, Your unlimited creativity fills me with joy. Amen.
Science Frontiers, p. 129, "Echidna Eccentricities." Photo: Western long-beaked echidna. Courtesy of Matma Rex. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
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