"It's Really True"

“It’s Really True”

(In my previous posting “In His Steps” I summarized Karen’s and my tour of Israel in the fall of 2017.  From beginning to end this trip brought us back to the history of God’s people but most importantly to the life, ministry, death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This and the following four articles cover some of the highlights we experienced.)

A church in our area has a spot on our local radio station in which a man shares his testimony of how Jesus touched him and changed his life when he read God’s Word. As he told his story he said, “The Bible is really true!” Karen and I have been taught and embraced this from childhood but our time in Israel reaffirmed it in many ways. Let me cite three examples.

One of our first stops was Caesarea, a city on the Mediterranean coast built by Herod the Great between 25 and 13 B.C. It was the home town of Philip the Evangelist (Acts 21:8) and the place of Paul’s two year imprisonment before going to Rome as a result of his appeal for a hearing with the Emperor (Acts 24:27; 25:10-12). It was razed by an Egyptian Sultan in the 13^th century. The ruins were excavated under the auspices of Israel’s government and a stone mentioning Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea who condemned Jesus to death, was found. Despite being referred to by the first century Jewish historian Josephus his existence had been disputed by Bible critics. But this inscription shows they were wrong and the Bible correct.

On our journey from the Dead Sea to Jerusalem we took a “detour” to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Dating back to the first century B.C. they are about 1000 years older than any other known Old Testament manuscripts and contain parts or the whole of every Old Testament book except Esther. The Jerusalem museum we visited (shaped like the containers that held the scrolls) has the complete Book of Isaiah (we saw parts of it on display). The documents attest to the antiquity and accuracy of God’s Word as well as to its endurance (“…The word of our God stands forever.”—Isaiah 40:8).

In Jerusalem we viewed the remains of David’s palace. Early in the 21^st century a tablet was unearthed bearing the name of Jehucal who is cited in Jeremiah 37:3. (According to the Hope of Israel Ministries website he’s the seventh individual mentioned in Jeremiah whose existence has been confirmed by archaeology.) Again, “…all (God’s) precepts are trustworthy.” (Psalm 111:7).

David wrote, “The law of the Lord is perfect. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy. The precepts of the Lord are right. The commands of the Lord are radiant. The ordinances of the Lord are sure…They are more precious than gold….” (Psalm 19:7-10). Thus history, archaeology and life’s experiences show the Scriptures to be true—so “…in keeping them there is great reward.” (Psalm 19:11). We’ll be glad we did!

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan