Experiencing Bible Science

Look carefully at the satel¬lite image of Israel on the back cover of this book. Find rugged terrain that is harsh rocky wilderness and desert. A flat coastal plain borders the Medi¬ter¬ranean Sea. The Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth’s dry land, is drying up. Terrain is the surface of land with its physical features. “And God called the dry land Earth…” Genesis 1:10, on the third day of creation. Our planet Earth is made up of three layers – crust, mantle, and core. The crust is the outer hard layer of rock about 22 miles, or 35 km, thick at the land masses and about 4 miles, 6 km, thick where there is water, in the oceans. Next is the mantle, about 1,800 miles, or 2,900 km, thick. Heat inside the Earth causes some of the mantle to melt. In the center of the Earth is the core with a liquid metal outer layer, and a solid metal interior. Our Earth is a sphere, “It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth…” Isaiah 40:22. The Earth’s crust has tectonic (structural) “plates” that shift, causing mountains and val¬leys and ocean ridges to form. “The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs” Psalm 114:4. “I [the Lord] beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly” Jeremiah 4:24. “And the mountains shall be molten under Him, and the valleys shall be cleft [split], as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place” Micah 1:4. God cuts rivers among the rocks in Job 28:9-11. (See MINERALS, page 69, and also RIVERS, page 199, for more features on our terrain.) V-shaped valleys and flat plains are at the foot of mountains, which can surround the valleys. Other terms Scripture uses are vale, dale, glen, ravine, clift and clef. A wadi is a dry valley that is flooded in the rainy sea¬son, Gene¬sis 26:19. Springs, rivers, and lakes are mostly found in valleys. The coastal plains have mountains on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other. Volcanoes occur when the molten mantle pushes through cracks in the Earth’s crust. Ash and dust are blasted into the air forming dark clouds, and red-hot lava flows out. Mount Sinai quaked with fire and smoke, described in Exodus 19:18. “He [the Lord] looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; He toucheth the hills, and they smoke” Psalms 104:32. “And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch” Isaiah 34:9. Were Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:24-26 destroyed by a volcano? Activity One Demonstrate the effects of erosion Erosion takes place when rock surfaces are worn down, eventually back to dust. Weathering is the main cause. Wind moves dirt and sand, blasting the rocks into smaller particles. Sand can also be piled up into heaps called sand dunes. (See SAND, page 77.) Water washes rocks and the loose grains of sand away. When water freezes, it expands; and in rock crevices, it splits the rock apart. Acid in rain water breaks down minerals in rocks so that they “decay” and easily erode. Question: Can I observe erosion taking place? Items needed: Different kinds of dirt as listed in Data, planks of wood or card¬board at least a foot (30 cm) square, ruler, water, a cup, or a can with holes. Procedure: Spread one type of dirt on the board about 1” or 2.5 cm thick. Raise one end of the board forming a slope, according to the heights in Data. Hold the cup full of water at the top of the slope and pour or sprinkle the water until you observe dirt moving down to the bottom of the slope. Draw what the dirt on the board looks like now. Wipe or wash off the board. Data: Drawings of wet dirt. Type of dirt Height one end of board raised 2” (5 cm) 6” (15 cm) Loose dirt or sand Hard-packed dirt Grass-covered dirt Rocky soil Soil with row of rocks across the middle of the board Results: Activity Two Find out the types of terrain in the Near East There are numerous references to the Earth’s features in Bible lands. Israel’s soil was, and still is, mostly rocky and dry, “but the water is naught, and the ground barren,” 2 Kings 2:19. They “dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rock” Job 30:6. But there were also fertile, green pastures, as in Psalm 23:2, and 1 Chronicles 4:40. Question: What land features are found in and around Israel? Items needed: Bible Procedure: Look up the references and record findings in Data table. Data: Record land feature and description/happenings in the Scriptures. Land features Scripture reference Description of the features and/or happenings at this site Isaiah 21:1 Exodus 15:22 Isaiah 40:9 Isaiah 49:13 Genesis 22:14 Luke 1:39 Luke 4:29 1 Samuel 17:2-3, 19 Genesis 13:10 1 Kings 19:9 Joshua 15:1-2, 4, 12 Joshua 15:5 Acts 27:26; 28:1 Isaiah 27:12 Luke 8:33 Genesis 49:13 Deuteronomy 1:7 Conclusions: There is a wide range of land features in Israel. Extra The Fertile Crescent, page 108, was terrain favorable for crops and thus popu¬lation growth. It is like a horseshoe starting at the Persian Gulf going north and west, up and over to the southern part of Canaan. The Mediterranean Sea is on the west, mountains to the north, and desert regions to the south and east. The area is subject to earthquakes but has fertile soil and water. Earthquakes happen when the earth’s crust cracks and shifts, sending out shock waves that can make buildings crumble down. A terrible earth¬quake was predicted in Amos 1:1 and also Zechariah 14:5. The earth shakes at the presence of God, Judges 5:4-5; Psalm 68:8; Psalm 77:18; and Habak¬kuk 3:10. When Jesus died on the cross there was an earthquake affecting the temple and even splitting rocks in the area, Mat¬thew 27:51. At Jesus’ tomb “there was a great earthquake” Mat¬thew 28:2. Earthquakes happen at volcanic eruptions, “The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence…and the rocks are thrown down by Him” Nahum 1:5-6. Mount Hermon is at the Upper Jordan Valley. It is over 9,000 feet (2.700 meters) high and snow covers its highest peaks most of the year. Melting snow seeps into the rocks forming many springs that flow into the Jordan River. Note that different people groups gave Mount Hermon differ¬ent names, Deuteronomy 3:8__________, Deuteronomy 3:9 ________ and ____________, Deuteronomy 4:48 The Jordan Valley is part of the Great Rift Valley which runs north and south, from Lebanon, through Lake Huleh then the Sea of Galilee, down to the Dead Sea, and all the way into Africa. It was formed as the earth’s crust cracked in an upheaval, thus mountains follow the valley all along on both sides. See map page 270. Mount Zion is the south-eastern hill of the hills of surrounding Jeru¬salem, Psalm 125:1-2. It is surrounded on three sides by deep valleys, so that King David built a fort and a palace there. It became “the city of David” as 2 Samuel 5:7, “Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.” Zechariah 14:4-11 predicts a future earthquake at the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem. The earth will spit east-west. The Israelites found caves and used them as places of refuge, as in 1 Samuel 13:6 and 1 Kings 19:8-9, or burial Genesis 23:19. There is harsh rocky wilderness and desert and a very salty “sea” too. “The righteous shall inherit the land” Psalm 37:29, Isaiah 60:21.