Daily Devotional – October 31

Biblical Accuracy

According to biblical chronology, Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt about 3700 years ago (Genesis 39:1, 2). Joseph was eventually elevated to rule the country under Pharaoh (Gen. 41). Nine years later, Jacob and his family came to Egypt, (Gen. 47:9), and some of his members were appointed to prominent positions in the government (Gen. 47:6). The Israelites were located in the Land of Goshen, and they “grew and multiplied exceedingly” (Gen. 47:27). Some time after Joseph’s death (Gen. 50:26), the Israelites continued to multiply, “and the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). This alarmed the then reigning pharaoh who conscripted them into slavery. “They set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Ramses” (Ex. 1:11). About 3550 years ago, Moses was born and adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh. Forty years later Moses showed his allegiance to his own people by murdering an Egyptian who was mistreating an Israelite and was obliged to flee (Ex. 2). After forty years in exile, he returned to lead the Israelites out of bondage to the Promised Land. There followed the ten plagues, the destruction of the Egyptian army, (Ex. 14:26), and the death of Pharaoh (Psalm 136:15). This happened about 3450 years ago (1 Kings 6:1).

These events cannot be satisfactorily synchronized with the traditionally held dates of Egyptian history. The 18th dynasty (1550 - 1298 BC) is supposed to have occurred from about 3300 - 3600 years ago. This was the most powerful, most affluent dynasty that ever ruled the land of Egypt. During this dynasty there is no record of mass slavery, no trace of Israelite occupation, and no indication of disasters of the magnitude of the ten recorded plagues/the loss of the powerful Egyptian army/ loss of the pharaoh. The 18th dynasty is also the best recorded dynasty that ever ruled in Egypt. Every king is known and both monuments and papyri provide a clear picture of the history of this dynasty. If there was an Exodus during this dynasty there should be some indication of it, but there isn’t. Either the biblical record is wrong, or there is something wrong with the standard Egyptian timeline. The latter turns out to be the case, but it is so ingrained in Egyptology that it will take decades for that truth to be acknowledged.

Here is Egyptian archeologists have found. During the 12th Dynasty (assumed to be 3960 - 3991 years ago), the Old Egyptian Kingdom shows evidence that the land of Goshen was filled with large numbers of people from the land of Canaan (i.e. Israelites). One of the pharaohs (Sesostris I) is known to have had a vizier (first in command after him) whose powers were similar to those granted to Joseph. Moses would have been born under another ruler (Amenemhet III) whose daughter had no children and would have adopted Moses. Moses confronted yet another pharaoh (Neferhotep I) 80 years later. This ruler’s body was never found and the land of Egypt descended into utter desolation as the Old Kingdom ended. It was not until the rise of the 18th Dynasty that the New Kingdom began, many generations after the time of Moses and the Exodus. If the dates for the 18th Dynasty are merely shifted 300 years forward, the Biblical and Egyptian Chronologies line up perfectly.

Shortly after the Rosetta stone was translated in the late 1800s, several thousand years were lopped off the “standard Egyptian chronology”. The same is likely to happen again as approximately 300 years are lopped off the current “standard Egyptian chronology” and experts eventually realize the Bible’s timeline and history for the nation of Egypt is absolutely accurate.

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

~ Genesis 47:1

And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may know what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

~ Romans 12:2

“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of All Mighty God, to obey his will, and to be grateful for His benefits.” – George Washington (1732-1799), 1st President of the United States

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 30

Geology

This headline caught my attention: “Gorge Rapidly Carved in Hard Granite Bedrock.” Using archived images and survey data of a Spanish dam built in the 1930s, Plymouth University researchers found that five small floods gouged a deep gorge through solid granite in less than six years.

Five times over a period of six years, water needed to be diverted into an overspill channel, and this spillway water carved out a gorge 880 feet long, 520 feet wide and 330 feet deep. One of the researchers studying the formation of this gorge noted that if someone saw this gorge today, he would say that erosion had taken place over a long period of time due to the effect of flowing water. Yet, the gorge was formed in only six years as a result of relatively small floods. Exceptional amounts of erosion can be caused by unexceptional flooding! Now, imagine the erosion that took place during the final stages of the Flood of Noah’s day; as the continents were being lifted, waters rushed across millions of square miles of recently deposited land sediments - eroding massive areas and carving out canyons and river valleys. It doesn’t take millions of years to form canyons and river valleys; it can happen quickly.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

~ Psalm 95:4

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

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Daily Devotional – October 29

Biology

On a cold winter day, you may notice a duck walking on ice and another walking in snow. How is it possible that their feet don’t freeze and fall off - given their bare legs and feet? Like many birds, ducks have a unique warming system called a “countercurrent” heat exchanger inside their legs and feet.

Engineers have long understood that when two pipes are touching each other with the fluid flowing in the same direction, half the heat is transferred to the other pipe’s fluid. If, however, the two fluids move in opposite directions, nearly 100% of the heat can move from the warmer pipe to the colder pipe. That is what happens in ducks! The pipe (artery) carrying warm blood runs down to the feet and passes next to the pipe (vein) with the cold blood coming from the feet. When the exchange takes place the heated blood transfers about 95% of its heat before it reaches the feet. In engineering design, this is called a counter current heat exchanger. Combine this with the legs and feet made mostly of bones/ hard parts, and you get feet that neither freeze nor waste heat energy. God in His wisdom created the counter current heat exchanger long before engineers discovered the principle.

The next time you see a duck or bird standing in snow, tell your friend why birds do not have to wear winter boots. God built into these creatures a counter current heat exchanger!

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

~ James 1:5

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

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Daily Devotional – October 28

Biology

Brittle stars, a relative of the star fish or sea star, have 5 arms around a disc. They received their name because they seem to be brittle. If a brittle star is picked up, one of the arms may fall off to help it escape, but later it will regenerate the missing arm. Scientists were surprised to find that even though brittle stars do not seem to have any eyes, they can flee from predators, catch prey, and change color from dark brown during the daytime to grey at night. How are they able to do these things without eyes?

Biologists found an array of spherical structures made of calcite covering this organism’s body. These spherical structures act as a micro-lens to focus light onto a tiny area the size of a dust speck. The resulting image is then focused onto nerve fibers that feed into nerve bundles; in other words, the entire body of a Brittle Star functions as one huge compound eye! What seemed to be an eyeless creature turned out to be all eye! Researchers have even commented that this visual system is far superior to anything man has made.1 When you are visiting an ocean, take a look under rocks - you may find a Brittle Star staring back at you with its big compound eye.

The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.

~ Proverbs 20:12

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 27

Biology

Imagine developing an artificial sweetener so potent that a single drop could make a lime taste as sweet as candy and transform fiery tabasco sauce to the sweetness of honey. The chemist who discovers such a miracle sweetener will find both fame and fortune. Such a sweetener has already been invented by God, but He seldom receives either appreciation or credit for His brilliance.

Europeans visiting West Africa in the 1700s noticed the locals chewing on the fruit of a local shrub (later named Synsepalum dulcificum) and discovered that the fleshy pulp around the seed completely transformed the taste of bitter, sour, or spicy foods to sweetness. After years of study, it was discovered that a chemical called miraculin (apparently in honor of its miraculous taste transforming properties) binds to the tongue’s taste buds, and under acidic conditions, it magnifies a person’s sweetness receptors a thousand-fold. Since even spicy, sour, or bitter foods have some sugar, the enhanced sweetness is all that is tasted!

What a God we serve who can take even the bitter and make it sweet. If He can do this with something as complex as the chemistry of taste, He can do the same with the sorrow and bitter circumstances of our life.

How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

~ Psalm 119:103

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 26

Biology

Most animals have a heart to body size that follows a generally linear relationship, that is, the larger the animal, the larger is its heart in proportion. An exception is the horse’s heart that is smaller than expected for such a large animal. Thus, the horse’s small heart has difficulty pumping the required amount of blood throughout the horse’s large body. So, God gave the horse four more pumps to help move the blood around its body. These “pumps” are located in the horse’s hooves.

On the underside of the horse’s hoof is a “v” shaped structure called a “frog.” The frog pumps blood throughout the leg. When a horse steps down, it compresses the frog that pushes up against the blood vessels, squeezing the blood up the leg. When a horse lifts its leg, the blood moves down the leg. Horses have five pumps circulating blood, the heart and four frogs. This makes the horse extremely well designed for traveling long distances with speed, strength, and endurance. When running, the horse needs more blood circulating throughout its muscles, so the four frog pumps provide that. Why didn’t God build a larger heart? Then, it would be operating all the time. God didn’t need to put a huge heart into the horse’s design because he had a better idea. A smaller heart assisted by four, turbocharged, auxiliary pumps located in the hooves of the horse provided the answer! God is a great designer.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

~ Psalm 20:7

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 25

Biology

Horses are uniquely made to work alongside of us. One of their unique features are the millions of sweat glands all over their bodies. Most mammals are not like the horse. Most have their sweat glands in their foot pads. Few mammals have sweat glands that cool their entire body. Have you ever seen a sweaty dog? The only animal you will probably ever see dripping with sweat is the horse. Horse sweat is not like human sweat which is clear and watery; horse sweat is white and lathery. Horse sweat contains latherin, a detergent, that enables the sweat to spread rapidly over the horse’s skin and hair. Sweating is like having a built-in air conditioner. As the sweat evaporates, it cools the body. The horse’s ability to sweat allows it to work all day in the heat along with us. Our Creator gave us a unique animal to serve us, and, indeed, horses have worked with mankind throughout the centuries.

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground;

~ Genesis 3:19

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 24

Biblical Accuracy

Was the Flood mentioned in Scripture local or worldwide? Let’s take a look:

1. The most common Hebrew word for the description of the Flood is the Hebrew word for “all or every”. Here are a few examples (emphasis added):

• “ALL flesh had become corrupted upon the earth” (Gen. 6:12) • “the end of ALL flesh is before me” (Gen. 6:13)
• “ I will bring a flood upon the earth to destroy ALL flesh (that has the breath of life under heaven) …EVERYTHING that is upon the earth shall die” (Gen. 6:17) • “EVERY living thing of ALL flesh (shall come two by two onto the ark)…” (Gen. 6:19)
• “EVERY living substance I have made I will destroy off of the FACE OF THE EARTH” (Gen. 7:4)
• “ALL the fountains of the great deep broke open” (Gen. 7:11) • “EVERY beast…ALL the cattle…EVERY creeping thing…EVERY bird of EVERY kind (wherein is the breath of life)…two by two went onto the ark” (Gen. 7:14,15)
• “the waters prevailed exceedingly and ALL the high hills, UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN, were covered” (Gen. 7:19)
• “15 cubits (about 24 feet) ABOVE THE HIGH MOUNTAINS the water prevailed” (Gen. 7:20)
• ALL flesh dies…ALL whose nostrils were the breath of life…ALL that was in the dry land…” (Gen. 7:21,22)

2. The ark was large enough to hold two (in some cases seven) of every known kind of land animal that had the breath of life in its nostrils. Without getting into all the math, the 16,000-plus animals would have occupied much less than half the space in the Ark.
3. Noah stayed on the ark for almost 5 months AFTER it had landed. This allowed the land to dry and plants to root so that the released animals had the best chance of survival in order to repopulate the Earth.
4. God promised that, “all flesh would never again be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither shall there be any more a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:11). Yet, there have been thousands of floods destroying large areas of the Earth. Either God is a liar, or the Flood of Noah was global.

The primary reason for misinterpreting Genesis 6-9 as “a local flood” is an attempt to gain credibility with modern geological thought (which needs huge time periods within the Earth’s rock layers to explain life without God). It is long overdue that Christian colleges, theologians, and pastors see the damage done by the distortion and disregard of God’s Word in this area. God’s words are always true.

Thou coveredst [the Earth] with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

~ Psalm 104:6, 9

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 23

Geology

“Don’t stand that close to the cliff edge!” “Why? I’ll be careful!” “That cliff could give way at any moment.” Perhaps Mom had more wisdom than we realized!

We are programmed with the concept that rocks are “rock solid” - millions of years old and never changing. But around the world, there are recent examples of “unexpected collapses” of famous geological features. In Australia, for example, the famous London Bridge formation collapsed on January 15, 1990, and one of the Twelve Apostles (sea stacks) collapsed dramatically as a tourist watched in 2005. The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland and the North Cliffs in Cornwall were recently caught dramatically falling away as tourists recorded the events on their handheld video devices.

At the Arches National Park in Utah, the famous Wall Arch – (spanning 71 feet wide and 33 feet high) collapsed in a single night on August 4, 2008. Just since 1970, forty-three arches have collapsed at Arches National Park while not a single new arch has formed. What we are seeing is massive rapid-scale erosion, not slow erosion expected by an evolutionary timescale. What we observe are cliffs collapsing at any moment. The evolutionary idea that cliffs erode slowly over time could cause you great harm on your next vacation if you are standing on a cliff that catastrophically collapses. Your understanding of history really does affect where you stand!

…Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice .

~ 1 Kings 19:11-12

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 22

Christian Truth

Did you realize the Chinese have known about a single Creator God for more than 4000 years? From the beginning of their history, the ancient Chinese worshipped a being they called “ShangDi” and acknowledged Him as the Creator of the universe and all life. ShangDi means “God above” or “Most High God.”

For more than 4000 years ago, the Chinese emperors also sacrificed an unblemished bull to ShangDi. Once a year, the emperor would sacrifice an unblemished bull in a ceremony accompanied by prayers and hymns of praise. This was called the border sacrifice. This sacrifice was originally done on the eastern border on top of Mount Tai in Shan- Dong. In the 15th century it was moved to Beijing, and the Temple of Heaven Complex was built for this purpose. (Today, the Altar of Heaven complex is a prime tourist attraction, and few people concern themselves with its origin and meaning.) Do you see the parallel with the practices of the ancient Israelites? Where did Adam make an offering to God and teach his sons to do the same? It was likely at the border of the Garden of Eden that they were forbidden to enter. Why sacrifice a perfect (unblemished) bull? This pointed to the sacrificial death of Jesus. The emperors continued doing this for thousands of years without realizing the significance of their actions. They had not been told that the sacrifice of the sinless Son of God (Jesus) had already taken place as a once-andfor- all payment for their sins. It was not until 1911 when the last emperor was deposed that the annual border sacrifices were stopped .

How did the Chinese know about a righteous, just, Creator God who required payment for their sinfulness? After the Flood of Noah’s day, people began to multiply on the Earth. After the Flood, the people built a tower, the Tower of Babel. God confused their languages and scattered them abroad. As the ancestors of the Chinese left the Tower of Babel, they settled in China, but they brought with them the same knowledge of God that the Hebrews had learned from their common ancestor – Noah. The ancient Chinese worshipped the God of the Bible; it was the faith of their fathers.

When the whole nation is guilty... the bullock shall be killed before the Lord.

~ Leviticus 4:13,15

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.