Very significant archaelogical find!

The following appeared yesterday (26 Sept 2015) on Open Line Radio's facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/OpenLineRadio?fref=nf

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This week, the Temple Mount Sifting Project, part of the Emek Tzurim National Park in Jerusalem announced an exciting discovery. A rare 3,000 year-old seal dating from the time of King David and Solomon (1000 BC) was discovered by a young volunteer.

When the Muslim Waqf began to build a mosque beneath the Temple Mount several years ago, rather than carefully excavating the area for archaeological preservation, they bulldozed the space under Temple Mount then dumped hundreds of truck-loads of earth in a garbage dump. Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay, recognized there would be tremendous archaeological riches in these ruined diggings, so he transferred the debris to a nearby Emek Tzurim National Park and began the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

Since that time, under the direction of Dr. Gabriel Barkay and Zachi Dvira of Bar-Ilan University, trained archaeologist direct volunteers to carefully sift every bit of dirt and debris for ancient remains. Clay pottery, Roman glass, gold jewelry, silver shards, ancient coins, semi-precious stones, arrowheads, and seals have been discovered.

The significance of the new seal is described in a Jerusalem Post article: "The historical credibility of the biblical text regarding Jerusalem during the 10th century BCE has been hotly debated by archaeologists since the 1990s. However, recent finds from other excavations – including the Ophel (south of the Temple Mount,) the City of David and the Temple Mount Sifting Project – indicate that the descriptions found within the biblical text relating to Jerusalem may indeed be authentic. 'The discovery of the seal testifies to the administrative activity which took place upon the Temple Mount during those times,' explained Barkay." In other words, those who maintain that Jerusalem was a backwater, insignificant city, without an Israelite settlement, and certainly no Temple, have been proven wrong. There really was a Jewish Jerusalem with a Israelite Temple as far back as King Solomon.

In the City of David [the original part of Jerusalem settled by King David] there are terrific findings but especially significant are the bullae or the seals found there. Over 50 seals have been recovered but several have specific names of royal officials, mentioned in the Bible from the 7th century B.C. One bulla has the name "Gemaryahu ben Shafan," who is mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah as King Jehoyakim's scribe towards the end of the First Temple period (Jeremiah 36:10). Other bullae or seals found have Hebrew names from the First Temple period, including two ministers of King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. "Yehuchal Ben Shela-mayahu" and "Gedaliah Ben Pashchur" are two of four ministers who unsuccessfully plotted to kill the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into a pit (Jeremiah 38:1).
Here's the point: Archaeology keeps confirming the historicity of the Scriptures. This is crucial because if we could not trust the factual truth of the Bible, how could we trust the spiritual teachings of Scripture? But the Bible is true.

This little seal, 3000 years old, is just one more evidence for the reliability of Scripture. So we can agree with the Psalmist "The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever" (119:160). Moreover, Jesus the Messiah affirmed the truth of God's Word when praying for His disciples. He asked His Father to "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth"(John 17:17). Since the Psalmist trusted God's Word, and even more, since Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, recognized it as God's truth, shouldn't we trust it as well?