There are many in the western world since the time of ‘The Enlightenment’ that have taught that the early accounts in the Bible are not reliable. Many have claimed that the universe is millions, if not billions of years old, while the Scripture dates it not more than 6000 years old. Others delare that the dinosaurs roamed the earth millions of years before man, even though the Bible says all reptiles were created on the same day as man (Genesis 1:24, 26, 31). So, while we don’t have any eyewitness alive to verify who is correct in their views, we do have some ways to determine if the Bible is a trustworthy book in its accounts of events that occurred thousands of years ago. One of those tools that aids us in this is the science of archeology. So, what is archeology?
Archeology is the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains. When we talk about Biblical archeology, we are talking about digging into the earth in an effort to determine the accuracy of Biblical accounts; to put the Bible to the test to see if it truly is “the Word of God” as it claims. Many things have been found over the years that lends strong credence to this claim.
One of the earliest evidences for the accuracy of the Scripture is found through the archeological digs at the ruins of Jericho, the city that, according to Joshua chapter 6, was conquered by the Israelites around 1400 BC when God caused the walls of the city to fall down. Two different archeologists, John Garstang and Kathleen Kenyon, excavated the site between 1930 and 1960. Both found that the details of their discoveries matched exactly what the Bible declares to have happened in the destruction of the city. But because of the difference in their dating of the event, they came to different conclusions as to who destroyed it.
According to both, they found a two walled city. The outer wall had a stone base of about 12-15 feet high and on top of it a mudbrick wall 6 feet thick and 26 feet high. The inner wall reached a height of 46 feet. This is what the Israelites would have been looking up at as they marched around the city. Both archeologists agreed that the city was well fortified and could have held out for a long time in a siege.
Both agreed that what they found was a city where the retaining (outer) wall collapsed outwardly which created a ramp up into the city. Note that Joshua 6:20 says that when the wall collapsed the people “went up into the city, every man straight ahead and they took the city.” (NKJV) They also found a great amount of grain in pottery jars that had been burned. That’s one reason we know they could have held out a look time, because of the vast amounts of food inside the city. But Joshua 6:18 said that everything was devoted to God and they were to take nothing. So, it is obvious, that if they had not been ordered by God to destroy everything but the precious metals, they would have taken all this grain for themselves when they destroyed the city, but they obviously didn’t.
Finally, one of the most important pieces of information they found was that there was one section of the retaining wall that didn’t collapse. Why is that significant? Because the Israelite spies had promised Rahab the harlot that they would spare her and her family because she had hidden the Israelite spies. And where was her house? According to Joshua 2:15, it was against the outer wall of the city as she had let the spies down from her window to the outside of the city, aiding them in their escape.
But the most important thing is that they have now been able to date through the study of the pottery there, that the destruction of the city was indeed around 1400 BC, which perfectly aligns with the Biblical record. Yes, our God is an awesome God who reigns, and who has given us an infallible and inerrant word. Praise the Lord!!
If you want to see more on this, go to YouTube and search for “Jericho Unearthed: The Archeology of Jericho Explained,” and if you have any unbelieving friends, it might be something you could point them to also.
For God’s glory and His alone,
Pastor Terry.