THE STONES CRY OUT
By T. W. FAWTHROP, D.D.
Modern
research has not discredited our Scriptures, but has strongly confirmed them. Alas! These
confirmations are by some discarded, by many unknown, and by others overlooked.
Dr.
Yahuda has said that "it is thought highly scientific to challenge things Biblical."
Certainly many prefer to be classed as
unscriptural rather than unscientific. Yet many Modernist theories are but
ancient doubts in modern attire. Denials
of miracle and the supernatural are but Lucian and Celsus
up to date. Archaeology has changed many
Modernist theories. It has shown that
monotheism preceded polytheism, and was not a progression from animism, totemism and polytheism, but was a direct revelation from
God and the original faith of the race. It
has shattered the theory that the Mosaic age was an age of illiteracy and
ignorance, and that the Pentateuch is of Exilic
origin; it has made untenable the late dates of the Exodus and the Fall of
Jericho, and undermined the theories which led to the rejection of the Book of
Daniel.
These
archaeological confirmations of the Bible have been so numerous and so widely
diffused that if fictitious they would require many fabricators for the whole
topography and then their agreement would require explanation. Not simply the identification of a few
place-names and isolated cases of topography require accounting for, but vast
numbers of places, covering large areas ranging from Aswan,
in Upper Egypt, to Nineveh in North
Iraq.
A
forger may have access to historical documents and correctly name certain
kings; but here are identified obscure persons and things: Phoenician workmen,
a king’s steward, a Temple
placard, or a tax-collector’s ostrakon; and these are
contemporaneous with Biblical history. The
cumulative value of these numerous corroborations gives us confidence to
triumphantly assert that the Scriptures are true. If archaeology be rejected or neglected, the
student of Scripture is not up to date, however much he may desire to be
thought so. The spade digs the grave of
sceptical theories, but unearths new proof of scriptural truth.
The Flood of Noah
The
story of the Flood, long considered folk-lore, is now accepted as fact. At Ur,
Sir Leonard Woolley found eight feet of clean,
water-laid clay, below which were stone implements, flints, and pottery of an
early type. At Kish Professor Langdon found the same clay
stratum, and agreed with Sir Leonard Woolley that it
was the Flood of Noah, exclaiming, "There is no
doubt about it". Peake’s
Commentary says, "The story cannot
be accepted as historical" (p. 143), but its recent Supplement states, "Evidence of the Flood has come to light at Ur
and Kish"
(p.4). The Nineveh Tablets of the story
of Gilgamesh confirm the scriptural account in many details. World-wide traditions further confirm it,
while the Weld-Blundell Tablets actually contain a list of Babylonian kings
divided by the words, "The Deluge came up",
and a list of "Ten Kings who ruled, before the
Flood".
Abraham and the Four Kings (Gen. 14)
In
the Assyrian Eponym Canon is the name of Abraham, a man of Abraham’s day, and
in Abraham’s land, if not the same Abraham. Wellhausen declared
the battle of Abraham and the four kings incredible; but Professors Sayce and Pinches have identified all four kings. The story assumes the supremacy of Elam in the
Euphrates Valley in 2000 B.C., and the spade has proved it, "How could a post-Exilic Jew obtain information of those
early kings?" asks Professor
Hommel.
Jericho
Excavations
have fixed the date of the Exodus and the Fall of Jericho about 200 years
earlier than the Higher Critics. Sir Charles Marston
says that the pottery, scarabs and seals all point to about 1400 B.C. for the
Fall of Jericho, and 1440 for the Exodus. Rameses 11 is no longer regarded as the Pharaoh of the
oppression. The
scarabs of Amenhetep II (1413-1377 B.C.) are the last
found in Jericho’s
ruins. "The theory that the Exodus was about 1445 B.C. has gained
ground among archaeologists, and a combination of arguments - Biblical,
chronological and historical - seem to point to that earlier date"
(Peake's Supplement, p. 8). Excavations show
that the walls fell outward, filling the ditch, and the Israelites walked over
the debris into the city, which they burnt just as the Bible states. Fragments of charred roofs, rooms and ropes
abound. The Romans built another city, a
mile nearer Jerusalem,
in which Herod the Great erected palace, amphitheatre and hippodrome. This explains what critics call an
inconsistency in our synoptic Gospels. Matthew and Mark say that Christ healed Bartimaeus after leaving Jericho,
but Luke says the miracle took place before Christ reached Jericho. Matthew
and Mark, writing to Jews, refer to the old Jewish city, through which Christ
had passed, but Luke, writing to the Gentile world, refers to the Gentile city
which Christ had not yet reached.
Jerusalem
Jerusalem and the Temple
area are accepted by all as genuine. Dr.
Robinson discovered the Arch which linked the area to the Upper City.
On the broad area Solomon erected his
magnificent Temple.
"Solomon’s
builders and Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites did
fashion them, and prepared the stones to build the house" (1 Kings 5: 18, R.V.). Sir Charles Warren found these
foundation-stones, bearing the Phoenician marks of the Gebalite
masons.
Corroborations
of personal names are more convincing than of places, because towns endure for
ages, while persons are only of brief duration.
The
Stele of Shalmaneser II of Assyria,
from Kurkh, records Ahab’s furnishing chariots and
soldiers for the battle of Karkar.
The
Black Obelisk, from Calah, records Shalmaneser’s
wars, and portrays Jehu, King of Israel, rendering
obeisance and tribute to Shalmaneser. Kings Oniri, Ahab, Jehu and Hazael of Syria are here
corroborated.
The
Babylonian Dynastic Tablets, which Dr. Pinches translated, prove that the
usurper Pul became Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria, as Bernadotte
became Charles XIV of Norway
and Sweden.
The tablets also confirm Ahaz, King of Judah; Menahem, Pekah and Hoshea of Israel; Rezin of Damascus; Hiram, of Tyre;
and Merodach Baladin,
prince of Babylon.
The
Taylor Cylinder tells how Sennacherib "shut up
Hezekiah, like a caged bird in Jerusalem,
his royal city". But it
fails to add how the cage was broken, and the bird escaped. This silence implies disaster. That Sennacherib took the fenced cities of Judah, and made Lachish his
headquarters, is recorded both by Scripture and the monuments.
Belshazzar
When
certain professors were unable to find Belshazzar in
profane history, they discarded the Book of Daniel. Dean
Farrar said, "History knows of no such king".
But foundation-cylinders from Ur contain prayers of
King Nabonidus for Belshazzar
his son. Other inscriptions record Belshazzar’s business transactions,
and his death when the Persians entered Babylon.
Professors Sayce
and Pinches show that as Solomon was co-king with David, so Belshazzar
reigned with Nabonidus, his
father; one captained the troops in the field, the other defended the city. So Belshazzar is
found, Professor Sayce declared. "The higher-criticism
is now bankrupt"; and Professor
Pinches writes, "I am glad to think, in the
face of archaeology, with regard to the Book of Daniel, that the higher
criticism is, in fact, buried". Dr. Orr
adds, "So Professor McFadyen’s
apparent revellings in the inaccuracies of Daniel are
all outworn and answered". Daniel’s
history is authentic. He knew Belshazzar because they both dwelt in Babylon. Herodotus and Xenophon
did not know him because they lived far away.
Results
As
the result of these many corroborations our Old Testament now
commands more respect from Rationalists and Modernists. Even Mr. H.
G. Wells says, "On the whole, the Bible story
of Hebrew history is evidently a true story, which squares with all that has
been learnt in the excavations of Egypt,
Assyria and Babylon
during the last century". Individuals, churches and nations need
spiritual revival. Does Modernism,
casting its shadow of doubt on God’s Word, tend in that direction? Is it mere coincidence that since its advent
heavy decreases have been registered in churches and Sunday schools? Let us honour God’s Word, accepting its
history, believing its promises, assenting to its miracles, preaching its
Saviour, crucified, risen and glorified, and claiming the outpouring of the
Holly Spirit to save, indwell and purify.
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