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AN AMAZING FACT: The canal across the Isthmus of Panama in
Central America is one of the greatest engineering marvels of the past
1,000 years. In 1513, Vasco de Balboa’s discovery of the Pacific coast
of Panama soon had merchants and empire-builders dreaming of a shortcut
that would enable ships to sail westward from the Atlantic to the
Pacific without making the grueling, 12,000-mile journey around the tip
of South America.
Over the next 200 years, visionaries ranging from Benjamin
Franklin to Simon Bolivar advocated the digging of a channel. The Panama
Canal was finally completed by the United States under Teddy Roosevelt
from 1904 to 1914. At that time, it was the largest and most complex
project of its kind ever undertaken, employing tens of thousands of
workers and costing $350 million. The 50-mile canal handles a large
volume of the world’s shipping.
The canal consists of artificially created lakes, channels, and a series of locks, or water-filled chambers, that raise and lower ships 85 feet through the mountainous terrain of central Panama. Battleships of the world’s navies are built to squeeze through the small 80-year old locks. The canal’s 12 locks, three sets of double locks at each end, have the same dimensions: 110-feet wide by 1,000-feet long, with gates at each end. Because of the “S” shape of the Isthmus of Panama, a ship sailing through the canal will actually travel west to east to go east to west.
Creating the Panama Canal required sophisticated measurements that were limited at the turn of the century. John the Revelator was asked in vision to take measurements, not of a canal, but of “the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there” (Revelation 11:1). Why would John be asked to conduct these measurements? Like in Ezekiel’s vision, the restoration of God’s work was marked by taking careful measure. Have you measured your own heart to see where you stand with Him?
The canal consists of artificially created lakes, channels, and a series of locks, or water-filled chambers, that raise and lower ships 85 feet through the mountainous terrain of central Panama. Battleships of the world’s navies are built to squeeze through the small 80-year old locks. The canal’s 12 locks, three sets of double locks at each end, have the same dimensions: 110-feet wide by 1,000-feet long, with gates at each end. Because of the “S” shape of the Isthmus of Panama, a ship sailing through the canal will actually travel west to east to go east to west.
Creating the Panama Canal required sophisticated measurements that were limited at the turn of the century. John the Revelator was asked in vision to take measurements, not of a canal, but of “the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there” (Revelation 11:1). Why would John be asked to conduct these measurements? Like in Ezekiel’s vision, the restoration of God’s work was marked by taking careful measure. Have you measured your own heart to see where you stand with Him?
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psalms 139:23 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalms 139:24
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