The Mississippi River

The length of the Mississippi River is debated because measurements can change from year to year due to floods that change the course of the river. The team at Itasca State Park in Minnesota says the Mississippi River is 2,552 miles long. The U.S. Geologic Survey published the length as 2,300 miles, and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area suggests the length is 2,350 miles. Each of these groups uses a different method to determine the river’s length, which can also change year to year from flooding conditions.

One historic course change for the Mississippi took place suddenly in March 1876, when it took a new turn near the town of Reverie, Tennessee. When the border between Arkansas and Tennessee was put in place in 1795, the boundary followed the middle of the Mississippi River. At this time the river ran northwest of the town. But after the change it ran southeast of Reverie, cutting it off from Tipton County. Today water sometimes runs on both sides of the town, and technically the land for Reverie is called “Island No. 35.”

Big rivers are not easy things to turn, but that’s how Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, captured ancient Babylon. Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was holding a feast to the gods of his country, using the sacred vessels they had captured from the Jewish temple. As they celebrated, suddenly a mysterious hand appeared and wrote on the wall. Daniel the prophet was called to interpret the writing and declared that the end of Belshazzar’s kingdom had arrived. (See Daniel 5.)

It came as a total surprise. The walls of Babylon were thought to be impenetrable. The Euphrates River flowed under the walls and through the city, and where it passed under the wall there were metal gates to prevent intruders from entering. Cyrus commanded his soldiers upstream to divert the river into a dry lakebed; eventually, the level dropped low enough for soldiers to enter under the river gates and conquer the city.

A king holds great power in his hands. His position and decisions can impact many people. But even the most boastful monarchs in Scripture, such as the pharaoh during the time of Moses or Belshazzar in Daniel’s time, are still subject to God’s Spirit and providence. In what seems like an almost unbelievable turn of events, Cyrus, the king who conquered Babylon, later gave an order to restore the temple in Jerusalem. God changed the course of a king’s heart, and He can do the same today in your heart if you are willing.

Additional reading: Proverbs 21:1–15

Key Bible Texts

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Proverbs 21:1 KJV)