“ACCURACY OF THE BIBLE”

Over 2,200 years ago, a man measured the Earth… using shadows and a stick. In the 3^rd century BCE, in the great Egyptian city of Alexandria, lived a man named Eratosthenes. Some mocked him by calling him Beta — the second letter of the Greek alphabet — implying he was second-best at everything. But in truth, he was an Alpha in knowledge. Astronomer, geographer, philosopher, poet, historian, mathematician, and director of the Great Library of Alexandria — he was a true Renaissance man… centuries before the Renaissance.

One day, he read in a scroll that in the city of Syene (modern-day Aswan), on June 21st, the summer solstice, a vertical stick cast no shadow at noon. The sun stood directly overhead. But in Alexandria, on the same day and same hour, a stick did cast a shadow. Where most would overlook such a detail, Eratosthenes saw a cosmic clue.

He reasoned: If the Earth were flat, the sun’s rays would hit both sticks equally — the shadows would match. But they didn’t. So, what could explain the difference? Only a curved Earth. He measured the angle of the shadow in Alexandria. It was about 7 degrees — roughly 1/50^th of a full circle. He hired someone to measure the distance between Syene and Alexandria: about 800 kilometers. Then he did the math: 800 km × 50 = 40,000 km — the circumference of the Earth.

That’s astonishingly accurate. No satellites. No telescopes. No calculators. Just observation, curiosity, and a mind that dared to ask why. Eratosthenes became the first person to calculate the size of a planet — and he did it by watching how a stick cast its shadow.

“It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in…”. (Isa. 40:22).  

“When he established the heavens, I was there: when he set a circle upon the face of the deep…” (Prov. 8:27). 

by: Carl Sagan

“THE PLACE OF UNDERSTANDING”

 Job 28:1-11 - The wealth that is hidden in the earth cannot be obtained but with a great deal of difficulty. So is it true of spiritual wealth (TRUTH). It’s situated purposefully by God and can only be uncovered with great effort. Only those who pursue with all their heart will find it and benefit therefrom. Job observes in the remainder of this chapter:

“But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The deep saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. Gold and glass cannot equal it, neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the heavens. Destruction and Death say, we have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.  

God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof for he looketh to the ends of the earth,  and seeth under the whole heaven; to make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder; then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

God’s wisdom is as the pearl of great value and the hidden treasure (Matt. 13:44-45). Once discovered, nothing should prevent us from possessing it. 

“Honoring the Father”

 Honoring someone is one of the highest forms of respect that can be performed,  especially when given with understanding. This is especially true in honoring God. God is a heavenly Father and He deserves honor from his children. God’s love for His children is the basis for which they give honor. God’s love for His children is stated in the following passages:

“My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art reproved of him; For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Heb. 12:5-7). Moses said: “as a man chasteneth his son, so Jehovah thy God chasteneth thee” (Deut. 8:5). God told David: “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and with strokes of sons of mankind” (2 Sam. 7:14).

Solomon wrote of a father’s love: “He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” (Prov. 13:24). “Discipline your son while there is hope, and do not desire his death.” (Prov. 19:18). “Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol. My son, if thy heart be wise, My heart will be glad, even mine: Yea, my heart will rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. Let not thy heart envy sinners; But be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long: For surely there is a reward; and thy hope shall not be cut off. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way.” (Prov. 23:13-19).

Honoring God has great reward: “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him. Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her that bare thee rejoice. My son, give me thy heart; and let thine eyes delight in my ways.” (Prov. 23:24-26).