Geographist

Ammonites Key Scripture: Genesis 19:36-38 Figures: Ben-Ammi, Nahash, Hanun, Naamah, Baalis, Tobiah Last week we learned about one of Israel's related neighbors named Edom, the descendants of Jacob's brother Esau.  Today we'll study the first of two other people groups who lived nearby and shared a similar ancestry with the Hebrew people, and this time their origin story isn't very pretty.  If there were a musical equivalent to the banjo in the 18th century BC, it would surely be a fitting instrument for the background music for the incestuous history of the Ammonites.  Hailing from just across the Jordan River, the people of Ammon may have been cousins of Israel's descendants but they were wicked, idolatrous, and rarely friendly.  They did play several important roles throughout the Old Testament, however, so let's jump in and see what we can learn about them.  When Abraham left his family, the only relative who is recorded to have come with him and Sarah was Lo...

Edomites Key Scripture: Genesis 36 Figures: Esau, Hadad, Harod As we pass 170,000 views over the history of this blog (thank you to all my readers!) we're going to take a few weeks to look at some of the near neighbors to Israel who are related to the patriarchs and heads of the original 12 tribes.  The first one we'll inspect is Edom, the offspring of Esau.  Located south of the Dead Sea, the Edomites lived in a tough land marked by wilderness and mountains.  In fact, the area was known and referenced in the Bible as Mount Seir.  The inhabitants, however, experienced a forced relocation and had a new home by the time of the New Testament.  Let's take a look at some of the details of their history and civilization. After becoming the miracle child of a barren mother, Isaac experienced the same struggle of being unable to have children of his own.  He prayed for his wife, Rebekah, who had been infertile and his petition was granted with the birth of twin son...

Magog Key Scripture: Ezekiel 38:1-2 Figure: Gog This week we'll take a look at a pair of related names that pop up in three very distinct and separate parts of the Bible, but have become quite recognizable.  Even in popular culture that has little to do with any sort of sacred writings, the names of Gog and Magog have appeared.  The Biblical references to these two names indicate that Gog is a ruler from a land that is known as Magog, but that he also leads an army that includes neighboring areas.  Let's find out what we can know from Scripture and see what sorts of interpretations have been made. When the descendants of Japheth are listed in Genesis 10, seven sons are listed.  One of them is Magog, and although he is listed second we've already discussed in previous posts how the birth order is not always reflected by these sorts of genealogies.  The association with two of Japheth's other sons, however, is very important as Magog is discussed by the prophet Ez...

To wrap up our look back at one of the most unique summers in our family's history, here are some thoughts from my lovely wife.  Summer time and more As I reflect on the past summer, I find myself thinking more about the decisions that I have had to make in the past year. It was around January when I had to start thinking about starting over with a different career or changing what I wanted to do with my life. Overall, I have been blessed to be given the choice on what I want to do so there was no pressure from home about where I should go. For those of you who don’t know, I was a teacher for two years. When my principal told me that I wouldn’t be renewed, I was devastated. I felt like my power was taken away from me and all of my hard work obtaining my degree had gone out the window. I’ve always had challenges with my self-esteem, and this did not help. I spent the next few months trying to figure out what to do with my life if teaching wasn’t an option anymore. My husband said th...

Happy Labor Day weekend everybody!  I know most of the school-aged folks have already resumed classes, but historically this point in the calendar has marked the official end of summer.  As the temperatures begin to cool and the sports calendar switches over to football season, we take the opportunity to check out the summer reflections for my youngest daughter, who has taken the nickname of Whirly on this blog.  Enjoy her memories, and happy Fall! My Summer Reflection First, I went to California for the first week of summer.  We went to Disney's California Adventure first and it was really fun.  Then the second day we went to Disneyland.  On the Star Wars ride I was the worst driver.  After a day off at the pool that was very hot we went to Universal Studios.  My favorite ride was the Jurassic Park water ride.  Finally we went to the San Diego Zoo where my feet really hurt from walking.  After that we went to a birthday dinner for my mo...