May 24, 2013 (Friday)
“What hath God wrought?”–Nubers 23:23
On this date, May 24,in 1844, the first telegraph message between cities was sent between Washington and Baltimore. Congress had approved the construction of wires on poles a couple of years earlier. Samuel F.B. Morse was the promoter, but Alfred Vail, a man 20 years younger, had done most of the technical work. The message that was sent each way that day was, “What hath God wrought,” from Numbers 23:23.
What is known today as, “Morse Code,” perhaps should be named, “Vail Code,” because Morse’s idea of giving every word a number was too bulky and slow to be of practical use. Vail gave every letter a sound made up of “dits” and “dahs.” It’s simple and relatively easy to learn and use.
dah-dit-dah-dit dit-dit-dit-dit dit-dah dit-dah-dit dit-dah-dit-dit dit dit-dit-dit
(When written, the dahs are dashes and the dits are dots, but the sounds are what are important).
The twin inventions of railroad and telegraph developed together and brought about expansion of business and country.
We all know also how communications via electronics has mushroomed into the mega industry that it is today. Business and social life depend upon electronic communications. It all started on this date 169 years ago.
Devotional Thought: Humans communicate in many different ways. We use telephones and radios, among other devices, to deliver messages to one another. How does God communicate with us? Well, one way is through the messages in the Bible. Here’s how the Apostle Peter put it: “Prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21 NIV). That’s why we often call the Bible, “The Word of God.” God speaks to us in other ways also, but most of the time we can learn what God wants us to know by studying the Bible. Let us study it and find out what God is saying. It will help us.