The Bible talks a lot about travel. People walked, rode camels and donkeys, drove chariots, and even sailed boats. Large groups of people moved around a lot. The Israelites crossed the giant Red Sea. Thousands of families walked together toward the Promised Land. Armies poured over hillsides in times of war. Wherever and whenever people have lived, they have had transportation problems to solve. The cable car system in Bolivia is a great example of a huge project that helps lots of people. And that’s just what moving big groups of people takes: BIG projects! Can you think of other tasks that were engineered to solve giant people-moving problems? A look at mass transportation in history gives us plenty of examples.
Think back through the Old Testament. Ancient Egypt was built on the Nile River. The Egyptians used water to move people and goods back and forth. Egypt was considered self-sufficient. It had everything a country needed to thrive. Excellent water supply, nutrient-rich soil, and good city planning made Egypt the center of ancient trade. The Nile River was like a super-highway. Goods were easily transported along the river. City planners in Egypt knew the Nile was a treasure. It helped their cities grow! (Similarly, leaders in Bolivia are using their country’s mountains like a super-highway. The mountains in Bolivia are good places to run cable cars. The sky system’s design solves the problem of traffic jams on crowded streets.)
The New Testament shows us a picture of a city’s superior road system. Romans were proud of their well-planned roads. Those roads made transportation easy, and Romans took good care of them. Long, straight roads connected towns. Large and small roads had good drainage and helpful footpaths. Busy roads and curvy roads were designed wider than other roads so traffic wouldn’t jam. The Roman road structure is still used today! In many parts of the city of Rome, new roads have been built right on top of old roads. Some old roads have survived for a thousand years!
Will Bolivia’s cable car system survive the next thousand years? Maybe. Or maybe leaders will come up with even better ways to move people around their cities. Do you have any big ideas?
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. ― Proverbs 16:3
