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Archaeology and "The House of David"
I have two magazines in front of me. The one on top is the December 18, 1995
issue of the U.S. News and World Report. The other is the March/April 1994 issue
of Biblical Archaeology Review.
This issue of U.S. News and World Report's cover article is entitled "God's
City" and is about the city of Jerusalem. It says that "three great faiths
considerJerusalem sacred." The article contained alot of interesting
information, but it was the following paragraph that particularly struck me:
"The triangular 12-acre city David built lay some 350 feet to the south of the
walled Jerusalem of today... Archaeologists, who have uncovered 21 strata there
ranging from the fourth millennium B.C. to the A.D. 15th century,
estimate that the Davidic city's population never exceeded 4,000 - largely
members of the court. Until recently, the
biblical references to David and the city's structures were not collaborated
archaeologically. But two years ago,a team digging in northern Israel uncovered
a ninth century B.C. stone tablet bearing a clear reference to the "House of
David" and "King of Israel," says former Jerusalem District Archaeologist Dan
Bahat."
The other magazine; Biblical Archaeology Review, hasa tremendous full color,
full page photo of the stone tablet mentioned in the previous paragraph. The
find contradicts many of the speculations of the "minimalist" modernistic
scholars who do not even accept the Biblical record as being reliable, let alone
the word of God. It shows that Israel and Judah were important kingdoms at the
time. It shows that David and his family dynasty were historical and not some
myth made up by post-exile Jews returning home. As has been the case so often
before, the Bible has been shown to be accurate while the skepticisms of the
liberal critics lie ruined under the weight of the evidence.
Finally, one more point. Suppose they had never found the stone tablet
mentioning the "House of David"? Suppose the hole had been dug at a different
location? Suppose it had been missed by two feet? I would still have as much
faith in God and His word today even if I had never had the pleasure of seeing
the photo of the stone tablet. My faith rests on many things inherent within the
Scripture itself, such as fulfilled prophecy. "Faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17).
But still, I sure do enjoy it when I see the facts come up and give unbelieving
skeptics a swift kick in the seat of the pants.
By Jon W. Quinn
The Front Page
From Expository Files 3.2; February 1996
