Tevye and Golde sing this wistful song in the classic movie, “Fiddler on the Roof,” as they reflect upon the passage of time at the marriage ceremony of their eldest daughter, Tzeitel. Even James Spann, the uber popular chief meteorologist at the ABC affiliate in Birmingham, regularly reports on each day’s sunrise and sunset.
Of course, we all know that the sun doesn’t actually rise and set. It only appears to move across the sky because the earth rotates on its axis. So, are we justified in mocking the song writer and the weather man for being wrong? Certainly not! We understand that they are simply using what’s commonly called phenomenological language, language that describes how something appears to us rather than how it actually is.
For example, Spann reported that tonight the sun will set at 5:05 pm even though this learned man knows quite well that the sun is stationary within our solar system. No one I know has ever called for Spann’s resignation over this issue or lobbied to remove Tevye and Golde’s duet from the airwaves.
Likewise, no one should panic when the Bible uses similar phenomenological language. For example, Genesis 15:12 relates that the sun went down and that a great darkness fell on Abraham. You’re right to observe that the sun doesn’t actually move and that darkness doesn’t actually fall, but why didn’t you cry foul and charge the Bible with unscientific language. Because you get it!
So too let me address two similar expressions: “the four corners of the earth” (Revelation 7:1) and “the lesser light to rule the night” (Genesis 1:16). With regard to the first, it is perfectly reasonable to view “the four corners” as an idiom for the four directions of north, south, east and west, particularly in light of the later reference in Rev. 20:8-9 that the nations will advance against God’s people from the four corners of the earth to surround them. It does not follow naturally to think that these nations are located at the GPS coordinates of the earth’s four corners, but rather that they will attack Israel from every direction.
With regard to the second, the light of the moon can be likened to the light of believers. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men” (Matt. 5:16), but naturally we understand that our light ultimately comes from Jesus. He is the “true Light which gives light to every man” (John 1:9). We simply reflect his light. Yes, it is true that Genesis 1:16 refers to the moon as a light, but it is not necessary to read this as “light source.” The psalmist refers to “the light of the eyes” (Prov. 15:30), using the same word for light as found in Gen. 1:16, so one’s eyes and the moon can both be said to glow or reflect light without taking either verse to mean that they themselves produce that light.
Daniel McCabe
Trivia
Which one of the following cities in Israel does not charge taxes on most goods and services?
A. Eilat
B. Jerusalem
C. Tel Aviv
D. Tiberias
On Location: Razzouk Tattoo
When entering the Old City of Jerusalem through Jaffa Gate, you’ll be hit immediately by sundry sights and sounds. An information center where you can pick up a free shiny map, a tired face behind a three-legged bread cart where you can buy a hot “Jerusalem bagel” for ten shekels, a massive citadel that once housed King Herod’s palace, and money changers with a reputation for tipping the scale in their favor. Cars honking, vendors hawking and tourists huddling. But you want a tattoo, did you say? Then follow me to the second pedestrian street on the left. Want to stop at Samara Coffee Shop on the corner before we go on? We have time to either sit or get it to go! Ok, ready? So let’s head up Greek Catholic Patriarchate St., take the first right at St. George St, walk up a short rise, and … there it is—Razzouk Tattoo!
Unlike my favorite pizza place in the Old City which shut down during Covid, Razzouk’s has been in business (so says the sign above their door) since 1300 A.D. I wonder if the prices have changed! Razzouk’s is a popular destination of Coptic Christians on their first pilgrimage from Egypt to Jerusalem. They routinely celebrate the milestone by getting a tattoo of a Jerusalem cross on their right wrist. But perhaps you would prefer a tattoo of St. George fighting the dragon—quite popular given Razzouk’s business address. What about one that says “Jerusalem 2026” or maybe an olive branch. Maybe you’d like a traditional cross or an open tomb? Simple designs cost between $50-100 and you’ll be done in a flash.
I’ll actually let you go first. After all, I’m not really into tattoos, and besides, I’m not finished with my bagel.
Daniel McCabe
On Location: Flanked by Two Mosques
First, a little history. If Islam is likened to a tree, then its roots would be its core beliefs (which include a declaration of faith, the shahada, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”), its trunk would be Islamic law and worship (perhaps you’ve heard it called sharia law) and its two branches covered in leaves would be the outward actions of its followers (daily prayers, giving, fasting and performing a pilgrimage to Mecca in one’s lifetime). The two branches of the tree are Sunni and Shi’a, making up 85% and 15% of Muslims worldwide, respectively. But then there is also Sufism, which some have likened to the sap flowing inside the tree, for Sufis focus on the inner life, remaining pure in heart and close to Allah, and they are present in both branches of Islam.
Sunni and Shi’a (or Shi’ite) Muslims generally hold to the same core beliefs, but there are admittedly some basic differences in their views of sharia and particularly in Islam’s succession of leadership immediately following the death of Muhammad. Sunnis accepted one of Muhammad’s most faithful and capable companions to serve as their next caliph (or leader) and Shi’as insisted that any succession of leadership should run through Muhammad’s family, choosing his cousin and son-in-law instead.
Omar, the second caliph of Sunnism, accepted the surrender of Jerusalem in 637 A.D. and prayed at a location inside the city where a mosque would later be erected centuries later by Sultan Saladin to recognize and honor the spot. The Crusaders retook Jerusalem from Muslim control in 1099, and when Saladin captured it once again in 1187 he not only authorized the construction of the Mosque of Omar, led by his son Afdal Ali, but he founded a Sufi retreat center, the Khanqah Salahiyya (now functioning in part as a mosque), on the former site of the residence of the Crusader patriarch of Jerusalem. The former stands just south of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and the latter sits adjacent to the church on its north side. The church is thus flanked by two mosques.
Then there’s this from the highly respected archaeological guide of Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, “The tops of the two minarets [which were added to both Muslim sites in the fifteenth century] are identical in structure…. This hint that they were intended to be a pair is reinforced by the observation that, despite a significant difference in ground level, a line joining their summits is absolutely horizontal …[and] the mid-point of a line drawn between the minarets falls approximately at the entrance of the tomb of Christ in the Holy Sepulcher. There can be no doubt that this arrangement was intentional [to] ‘nullify’ the Holy Sepulcher, which is the only site associated with Christ that Muslims do not accept.”
Daniel McCabe
Our Spring 2026 Five-Week Community Mini-Series:
Topic: “The Greatest Biblical Archaeological Discoveries of All Time”
Our weekly multimedia presentation will cover such finds as the Dead Sea Scrolls and Hezekiah’s Tunnel.
- Instructor: Dr. Daniel McCabe, MACE, ThM, Dmin; Executive Director of Shalom Y’all Ministries; Former Professor at the College of Biblical Studies; Pastor of Cullman Bible Church
- Location: Golden Corral at 1720 Cherokee Ave SW in Cullman, Alabama
- Time: Mondays, 6:00-7:15 pm, five consecutive weeks from February 9 – March 9, 2026
- Cost: Free—you can attend the seminar without purchasing a buffet or you can choose to enjoy a meal before, during or after the seminar. All ages are welcome.
- To Launch: We need a minimum of 10 people to sign up for the seminar before we can launch.
Scripture Study: Psalm 73
This psalm is one of my favorites and has been for a very long time. From it we can get a good perspective on how to deal with life in this world. Psalm 73 is a psalm of Asaph, and it’s the first one in Book 3 of the psalms, which are traditionally divided into five different sections or books. It’s so relatable because we have all walked in Asaph’s sandals, so let me walk through it quickly. I won’t write out the whole psalm, only the last several verses where we can find great encouragement from Asaph.
Psalm 73 begins by saying, “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.” Let’s stop here because this is a pretty good summary of the history of God’s interaction with the world. What a start by Asaph! But then he looks at his life and the world around him and notes how good the evil men actually have it in this world. He says in v. 2, “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” In the next several verses he lays out what the wicked have experienced in this life, saying things like, “They have no pangs until death. They’re not in trouble as others are. Their pride is their necklace. Violence covers them as a garment.” He notes how good they have it and that they seem to lack for nothing.
He then speaks about how boastful they are. “They set their mouths against the heavens. Their tongue struts through the earth.” These are people that you would expect to be struck down by lightning at any time for their arrogance before God, yet Asaph goes on and on about how good they have it in this world, including “They increase in their riches.” Sadly he even gets to the point in v. 13 where he concludes, “All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.” He’s basically saying, “I’ve been wasting my time trying to live for God, trying to do things right, trying to walk uprightly, and trying to be pure and righteous in heart. Where’s that gotten me? Everybody else around me is getting ahead in life even though they don’t really care about God. The wicked are succeeding.” I think we can all understand what’s going on in Asaph’s mind. A lot of well-intentioned people fall into this trap, wondering, “Why do I even bother when the wicked in this world seem to get ahead?”
But fortunately he comes to himself, and in v. 16 he is reminded of who God is. He writes, “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task until…”—and this is where Asaph’s perspective shifted—“until I went into the sanctuary of God.” Thankfully, Asaph had the temple of God and he could go near God’s presence. Finally he said, “Then I discerned their end”—the end of the wicked. When he approached God and considered Him, then he was able to see the bigger picture, particularly what would happen after this physical life.
It’s way too easy for us to get caught up in the cares of this world and even as believers to feel like, “I’m stuck in this life. The wicked are getting ahead,” and it’s easy to forget that after this life there is either eternal presence with God or separation from Him. But then he “discerned their end.” In v. 19 he writes, “They’re destroyed in a moment, swept away by terrors…. When I was brutish and ignorant, I was like a beast towards you God”—when he wasn’t thinking about things in the right perspective. In v. 20 he continues, “When You rouse Yourself, You despise them as phantoms”—the wicked in this world, and they will not ultimately succeed. They have no eternal life if they haven’t had their sins forgiven through faith in the one true God.
Then he ends with these beautiful, wonderful words, starting in v. 23, “Nevertheless, I am continually with You. You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from You shall perish. You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to You. But for me it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my refuge that I may tell of all Your works.”
I just love this psalm because it is easy for us to look at the world around us and like Asaph to despair because this life is hard, especially for believers. Life in this fallen world is very hard. But when Asaph approached the Lord, his perspective was righted.
He considered eternal life.
My favorite part is when he says, “Whom have I in heaven but You?” He has nothing else, but in reality he doesn’t need anything else. “There is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.” All the riches that the wicked may have, all the ways that they may prosper, they can have it. I desire nothing but You, God.
All of us can learn a big lesson from Asaph. When we remember who God is, then we get the bigger picture, and like Asaph we can reorient our hearts to desire nothing but Him. God has never abandoned us even when we feel far from Him, and that comforts me every day.
Adam Keim
Archaeology: The Nazareth Inscription
When the Roman soldiers awoke from the divine stupor that fell upon them at the resurrection of Jesus (note Matthew 28:4 where “[they] became like dead men”), they made a panic-driven beeline, not to their commanding officers as one might have expected, but “to the chief priests” of the Jews (v. 11) who secretly paid them to adopt the cover story that “[Jesus’] disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept” (v. 13). The Jewish leaders then assured the soldiers that “… if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure” (v. 14).
It’s pretty evident that the guards greatly feared what might happen to them for their failure to safeguard the tomb, and it’s also apparent that the chief priests were shamelessly prepared to perpetuate their false narrative no matter what the cost. In order to save face with the Jewish people, to feign outrage at the disciples for supposedly having stolen the body of Jesus, and to justify persecution towards the disciples and other followers of Jesus, is it possible that the chief priests might suggest to Roman officials that the stealing of a body from a tomb should be made a capital offense?
Throughout history men have robbed tombs of their treasures, but under what circumstances might someone choose to rob a tomb of its body? That would be a most uncommon event, which is why the Nazareth Inscription is so intriguing. First appearing in 1878 in Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus, this 15 X 24 inch, white, marble slab records a first-century edict by Caesar that appears to have been crafted in response to a formal request from another Roman official. Some believe that the request came from Herod Agrippa, the governor of Judah, who, adding to the intrigue, was related to the family of the high priest in Jerusalem.
Dating to 41 A.D., during the reign of Emperor Claudius, the edict imposed the death penalty on anyone caught removing a body from a tomb with evil intent. The edict specifically refers to family tombs of the rolling-stone variety, which would, of course, match the style of tomb in which Jesus was buried. Given that Romans cremated or buried their dead, placing the ashes or bodies in the ground rather than placing them in rock tombs to decompose as was the practice of first-century Jews, and given that there are no known examples in the ancient world of Romans placing their deceased in family tombs with rolling stones, it is safe to conclude that this edict was directed at Jews or Jewish Christians. Such an edict might have raised doubts in the general population that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead, and it would have also served to justify subsequent persecution of Jesus’ followers and disciples in the name of justice, perhaps even leading to the death of James, the brother of John, in 44 A.D. at the hand of Herod Agrippa himself (Acts 12:1-3).
Daniel McCabe
Answer to the Trivia
A. Eilat
